Prospects for surviving climate change in Antarctic aquatic species
Maritime Antarctic freshwater habitats are amongst the fastest changing environments on Earth. Temperatures have risen around 1°C and ice cover has dramatically decreased in 15 years. Few animal species inhabit these sites, but the fairy shrimp Branchinecta gaini typifies those that do. This species...
| Published in: | Frontiers in Zoology |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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BioMed Central
2005
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| Online Access: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1177978 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15938749 https://doi.org/10.1186/1742-9994-2-9 |
| Summary: | Maritime Antarctic freshwater habitats are amongst the fastest changing environments on Earth. Temperatures have risen around 1°C and ice cover has dramatically decreased in 15 years. Few animal species inhabit these sites, but the fairy shrimp Branchinecta gaini typifies those that do. This species survives up to 25°C daily temperature fluctuations in summer and passes winter as eggs at temperatures down to -25°C. Its annual temperature envelope is, therefore around 50°C. This is typical of Antarctic terrestrial species, which exhibit great physiological flexibility in coping with temperature fluctuations. The rapidly changing conditions in the Maritime Antarctic are enhancing fitness in these species by increasing the time available for feeding, growth and reproduction, as well as increasing productivity in lakes. The future problem these animals face is via displacement by alien species from lower latitudes. Such invasions are now well documented from sub-Antarctic sites. |
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