Ship traffic connects Antarctica's fragile coasts to worldwide ecosystems. ...

• Main Authors: McCarthy, Arlie H, Peck, Lloyd S, Aldridge, David C
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: National Academy of Sciences 2022
• Subjects: anthropogenic impacts; biofouling; marine conservation; traffic networks; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Anvers; Anvers Island; South Shetland Islands; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.81374; https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/333957

Antarctica, an isolated and long considered pristine wilderness, is becoming increasingly exposed to the negative effects of ship-borne human activity, and especially the introduction of invasive species. Here, we provide a comprehensive quantitative analysis of ship movements into Antarctic waters and a spatially explicit assessment of introduction risk for nonnative marine species in all Antarctic waters. We show that vessels traverse Antarctica's isolating natural barriers, connecting it directly via an extensive network of ship activity to all global regions, especially South Atlantic and European ports. Ship visits are more than seven times higher to the Antarctic Peninsula (especially east of Anvers Island) and the South Shetland Islands than elsewhere around Antarctica, together accounting for 88% of visits to Southern Ocean ecoregions. Contrary to expectations, we show that while the five recognized "Antarctic Gateway cities" are important last ports of call, especially for research and tourism ...