Biodiversity of the Southern Ocean.

• Main Authors: David, Bruno, Saucède, Thomas
• Other Authors: Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Biogéosciences UMR 6282 (BGS), Université de Bourgogne (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2015
• Subjects: [SDV.BID]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity; Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01231757

130 pages International audience The almost polar position of the Southern Ocean, its size and its isolation make it a world apart, defined by the violence of storms, very low temperatures and immense ice zones.Such climatic and oceanographic parameters have shaped the biodiversity of this ocean. Endemism, slow metabolism, longevity, gigantism, the absence of larval phases, etc. So many elements characterize an extraordinary “natural laboratory” for the exploration of adaptive, evolutionary and ecological processes at work in these extreme conditions.This book presents the most up-to-date scientific investigations into the Southern Ocean, its climatic history, the evolutionary peculiarities of its biodiversity which is today faced with global change.