Macrobenthic Assessment of the South Sandwich Islands Reveals a Biogeographically Distinct Polar Archipelago
The sub-Antarctic South Sandwich Islands forms part of one of the largest marine protected areas (MPAs) in the world. Whilst the neighbouring island of South Georgia is known to be a biodiversity hotspot, very little was known about the benthic biodiversity or biogeography of the South Sandwich Isla...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0f59e90d147c41fe9388ccf5d0e36ebc 2023-05-15T13:42:04+02:00 Macrobenthic Assessment of the South Sandwich Islands Reveals a Biogeographically Distinct Polar Archipelago Oliver T. Hogg Anna-Leena Downie Rui P. Vieira Chris Darby 2021-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.650241 https://doaj.org/article/0f59e90d147c41fe9388ccf5d0e36ebc EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.650241/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.650241 https://doaj.org/article/0f59e90d147c41fe9388ccf5d0e36ebc Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 8 (2021) benthic ecology marine conservation marine spatial planning Southern Ocean bioregionalisation habitat mapping Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.650241 2022-12-31T13:12:39Z The sub-Antarctic South Sandwich Islands forms part of one of the largest marine protected areas (MPAs) in the world. Whilst the neighbouring island of South Georgia is known to be a biodiversity hotspot, very little was known about the benthic biodiversity or biogeography of the South Sandwich Islands. Here we present findings from the first biophysical assessment of this polar archipelago. Using open-access datasets, alongside results from a recent UK Government-funder Blue Belt expedition to the region, we assess how the island’s biodiversity is structured spatially and taxonomically and how this is driven by environmental factors. The South Sandwich Islands are shown to be both biologically rich, and biogeographically distinct from their neighbouring provinces. A gradient forest approach was used to map the archipelago’s benthic habitats which, based on the functional composition of benthic fauna and environmental characterisation of the benthic environment, demonstrated a distinct biogeographical north-south divide. This faunal and environmental discontinuity between the South Sandwich Islands and the rest of the MPA and between the different islands of the archipelago itself, highlights the importance of the zoned protection across the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Marine Protected Area. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic South Sandwich Islands Southern Ocean Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Southern Ocean Sandwich Islands South Sandwich Islands South Georgia ENVELOPE(-33.000,-33.000,-56.000,-56.000) Frontiers in Marine Science 8 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
benthic ecology marine conservation marine spatial planning Southern Ocean bioregionalisation habitat mapping Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
benthic ecology marine conservation marine spatial planning Southern Ocean bioregionalisation habitat mapping Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Oliver T. Hogg Anna-Leena Downie Rui P. Vieira Chris Darby Macrobenthic Assessment of the South Sandwich Islands Reveals a Biogeographically Distinct Polar Archipelago |
topic_facet |
benthic ecology marine conservation marine spatial planning Southern Ocean bioregionalisation habitat mapping Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
The sub-Antarctic South Sandwich Islands forms part of one of the largest marine protected areas (MPAs) in the world. Whilst the neighbouring island of South Georgia is known to be a biodiversity hotspot, very little was known about the benthic biodiversity or biogeography of the South Sandwich Islands. Here we present findings from the first biophysical assessment of this polar archipelago. Using open-access datasets, alongside results from a recent UK Government-funder Blue Belt expedition to the region, we assess how the island’s biodiversity is structured spatially and taxonomically and how this is driven by environmental factors. The South Sandwich Islands are shown to be both biologically rich, and biogeographically distinct from their neighbouring provinces. A gradient forest approach was used to map the archipelago’s benthic habitats which, based on the functional composition of benthic fauna and environmental characterisation of the benthic environment, demonstrated a distinct biogeographical north-south divide. This faunal and environmental discontinuity between the South Sandwich Islands and the rest of the MPA and between the different islands of the archipelago itself, highlights the importance of the zoned protection across the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Marine Protected Area. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Oliver T. Hogg Anna-Leena Downie Rui P. Vieira Chris Darby |
author_facet |
Oliver T. Hogg Anna-Leena Downie Rui P. Vieira Chris Darby |
author_sort |
Oliver T. Hogg |
title |
Macrobenthic Assessment of the South Sandwich Islands Reveals a Biogeographically Distinct Polar Archipelago |
title_short |
Macrobenthic Assessment of the South Sandwich Islands Reveals a Biogeographically Distinct Polar Archipelago |
title_full |
Macrobenthic Assessment of the South Sandwich Islands Reveals a Biogeographically Distinct Polar Archipelago |
title_fullStr |
Macrobenthic Assessment of the South Sandwich Islands Reveals a Biogeographically Distinct Polar Archipelago |
title_full_unstemmed |
Macrobenthic Assessment of the South Sandwich Islands Reveals a Biogeographically Distinct Polar Archipelago |
title_sort |
macrobenthic assessment of the south sandwich islands reveals a biogeographically distinct polar archipelago |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.650241 https://doaj.org/article/0f59e90d147c41fe9388ccf5d0e36ebc |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-33.000,-33.000,-56.000,-56.000) |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean Sandwich Islands South Sandwich Islands South Georgia |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean Sandwich Islands South Sandwich Islands South Georgia |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic South Sandwich Islands Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic South Sandwich Islands Southern Ocean |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 8 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.650241/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.650241 https://doaj.org/article/0f59e90d147c41fe9388ccf5d0e36ebc |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.650241 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
8 |
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1766162249845571584 |