Climate change and trophic response of the Antarctic bottom fauna.
BACKGROUND: As Earth warms, temperate and subpolar marine species will increasingly shift their geographic ranges poleward. The endemic shelf fauna of Antarctica is especially vulnerable to climate-mediated biological invasions because cold temperatures currently exclude the durophagous (shell-break...
Published in: | PLoS ONE |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2009
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0004385 https://doaj.org/article/f302a22a7e5e4d39ad480baf8547c040 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f302a22a7e5e4d39ad480baf8547c040 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f302a22a7e5e4d39ad480baf8547c040 2023-05-15T13:57:56+02:00 Climate change and trophic response of the Antarctic bottom fauna. Richard B Aronson Ryan M Moody Linda C Ivany Daniel B Blake John E Werner Alexander Glass 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0004385 https://doaj.org/article/f302a22a7e5e4d39ad480baf8547c040 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2632738?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0004385 https://doaj.org/article/f302a22a7e5e4d39ad480baf8547c040 PLoS ONE, Vol 4, Iss 2, p e4385 (2009) Medicine R Science Q article 2009 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0004385 2022-12-31T10:34:31Z BACKGROUND: As Earth warms, temperate and subpolar marine species will increasingly shift their geographic ranges poleward. The endemic shelf fauna of Antarctica is especially vulnerable to climate-mediated biological invasions because cold temperatures currently exclude the durophagous (shell-breaking) predators that structure shallow-benthic communities elsewhere. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used the Eocene fossil record from Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula, to project specifically how global warming will reorganize the nearshore benthos of Antarctica. A long-term cooling trend, which began with a sharp temperature drop approximately 41 Ma (million years ago), eliminated durophagous predators-teleosts (modern bony fish), decapod crustaceans (crabs and lobsters) and almost all neoselachian elasmobranchs (modern sharks and rays)-from Antarctic nearshore waters after the Eocene. Even prior to those extinctions, durophagous predators became less active as coastal sea temperatures declined from 41 Ma to the end of the Eocene, approximately 33.5 Ma. In response, dense populations of suspension-feeding ophiuroids and crinoids abruptly appeared. Dense aggregations of brachiopods transcended the cooling event with no apparent change in predation pressure, nor were there changes in the frequency of shell-drilling predation on venerid bivalves. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Rapid warming in the Southern Ocean is now removing the physiological barriers to shell-breaking predators, and crabs are returning to the Antarctic Peninsula. Over the coming decades to centuries, we predict a rapid reversal of the Eocene trends. Increasing predation will reduce or eliminate extant dense populations of suspension-feeding echinoderms from nearshore habitats along the Peninsula while brachiopods will continue to form large populations, and the intensity of shell-drilling predation on infaunal bivalves will not change appreciably. In time the ecological effects of global warming could spread to other portions of the Antarctic ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Seymour Island Southern Ocean Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Seymour ENVELOPE(-56.767,-56.767,-64.283,-64.283) Seymour Island ENVELOPE(-56.750,-56.750,-64.283,-64.283) Southern Ocean The Antarctic PLoS ONE 4 2 e4385 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Richard B Aronson Ryan M Moody Linda C Ivany Daniel B Blake John E Werner Alexander Glass Climate change and trophic response of the Antarctic bottom fauna. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
BACKGROUND: As Earth warms, temperate and subpolar marine species will increasingly shift their geographic ranges poleward. The endemic shelf fauna of Antarctica is especially vulnerable to climate-mediated biological invasions because cold temperatures currently exclude the durophagous (shell-breaking) predators that structure shallow-benthic communities elsewhere. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used the Eocene fossil record from Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula, to project specifically how global warming will reorganize the nearshore benthos of Antarctica. A long-term cooling trend, which began with a sharp temperature drop approximately 41 Ma (million years ago), eliminated durophagous predators-teleosts (modern bony fish), decapod crustaceans (crabs and lobsters) and almost all neoselachian elasmobranchs (modern sharks and rays)-from Antarctic nearshore waters after the Eocene. Even prior to those extinctions, durophagous predators became less active as coastal sea temperatures declined from 41 Ma to the end of the Eocene, approximately 33.5 Ma. In response, dense populations of suspension-feeding ophiuroids and crinoids abruptly appeared. Dense aggregations of brachiopods transcended the cooling event with no apparent change in predation pressure, nor were there changes in the frequency of shell-drilling predation on venerid bivalves. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Rapid warming in the Southern Ocean is now removing the physiological barriers to shell-breaking predators, and crabs are returning to the Antarctic Peninsula. Over the coming decades to centuries, we predict a rapid reversal of the Eocene trends. Increasing predation will reduce or eliminate extant dense populations of suspension-feeding echinoderms from nearshore habitats along the Peninsula while brachiopods will continue to form large populations, and the intensity of shell-drilling predation on infaunal bivalves will not change appreciably. In time the ecological effects of global warming could spread to other portions of the Antarctic ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Richard B Aronson Ryan M Moody Linda C Ivany Daniel B Blake John E Werner Alexander Glass |
author_facet |
Richard B Aronson Ryan M Moody Linda C Ivany Daniel B Blake John E Werner Alexander Glass |
author_sort |
Richard B Aronson |
title |
Climate change and trophic response of the Antarctic bottom fauna. |
title_short |
Climate change and trophic response of the Antarctic bottom fauna. |
title_full |
Climate change and trophic response of the Antarctic bottom fauna. |
title_fullStr |
Climate change and trophic response of the Antarctic bottom fauna. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Climate change and trophic response of the Antarctic bottom fauna. |
title_sort |
climate change and trophic response of the antarctic bottom fauna. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0004385 https://doaj.org/article/f302a22a7e5e4d39ad480baf8547c040 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-56.767,-56.767,-64.283,-64.283) ENVELOPE(-56.750,-56.750,-64.283,-64.283) |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Seymour Seymour Island Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Seymour Seymour Island Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Seymour Island Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Seymour Island Southern Ocean |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 4, Iss 2, p e4385 (2009) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2632738?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0004385 https://doaj.org/article/f302a22a7e5e4d39ad480baf8547c040 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0004385 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
container_volume |
4 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
e4385 |
_version_ |
1766265869617332224 |