Antarctic Seabed Assemblages in an Ice-Shelf-Adjacent Polynya, Western Weddell Sea.
Ice shelves cover ~1.6 million km2 of the Antarctic continental shelf and are sensitive indicators of climate change. With ice-shelf retreat, aphotic marine environments transform into new open-water spaces of photo-induced primary production and associated organic matter export to the benthos. Pred...
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ftunivcam:oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/345725 2024-02-04T09:56:04+01:00 Antarctic Seabed Assemblages in an Ice-Shelf-Adjacent Polynya, Western Weddell Sea. Frinault, Bétina AV Christie, Frazer DW Fawcett, Sarah E Flynn, Raquel F Hutchinson, Katherine A Montes Strevens, Chloë MJ Taylor, Michelle L Woodall, Lucy C Barnes, David KA 2023-01-25T03:30:48Z application/pdf https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/345725 https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.93147 eng eng MDPI AG http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biology11121705 Biology (Basel) https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/345725 doi:10.17863/CAM.93147 Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ essn: 2079-7737 nlmid: 101587988 Antarctica Larsen C Ice Shelf Weddell Sea benthic assemblages benthic biodiversity climate change coastal polynya continental shelf functional groups ice shelf Article 2023 ftunivcam https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.93147 2024-01-11T23:22:21Z Ice shelves cover ~1.6 million km2 of the Antarctic continental shelf and are sensitive indicators of climate change. With ice-shelf retreat, aphotic marine environments transform into new open-water spaces of photo-induced primary production and associated organic matter export to the benthos. Predicting how Antarctic seafloor assemblages may develop following ice-shelf loss requires knowledge of assemblages bordering the ice-shelf margins, which are relatively undocumented. This study investigated seafloor assemblages, by taxa and functional groups, in a coastal polynya adjacent to the Larsen C Ice Shelf front, western Weddell Sea. The study area is rarely accessed, at the frontline of climate change, and located within a CCAMLR-proposed international marine protected area. Four sites, ~1 to 16 km from the ice-shelf front, were explored for megabenthic assemblages, and potential environmental drivers of assemblage structures were assessed. Faunal density increased with distance from the ice shelf, with epifaunal deposit-feeders a surrogate for overall density trends. Faunal richness did not exhibit a significant pattern with distance from the ice shelf and was most variable at sites closest to the ice-shelf front. Faunal assemblages significantly differed in composition among sites, and those nearest to the ice shelf were the most dissimilar; however, ice-shelf proximity did not emerge as a significant driver of assemblage structure. Overall, the study found a biologically-diverse and complex seafloor environment close to an ice-shelf front and provides ecological baselines for monitoring benthic ecosystem responses to environmental change, supporting marine management. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Weddell Sea Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository Antarctic The Antarctic Weddell Sea Weddell |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcam |
language |
English |
topic |
Antarctica Larsen C Ice Shelf Weddell Sea benthic assemblages benthic biodiversity climate change coastal polynya continental shelf functional groups ice shelf |
spellingShingle |
Antarctica Larsen C Ice Shelf Weddell Sea benthic assemblages benthic biodiversity climate change coastal polynya continental shelf functional groups ice shelf Frinault, Bétina AV Christie, Frazer DW Fawcett, Sarah E Flynn, Raquel F Hutchinson, Katherine A Montes Strevens, Chloë MJ Taylor, Michelle L Woodall, Lucy C Barnes, David KA Antarctic Seabed Assemblages in an Ice-Shelf-Adjacent Polynya, Western Weddell Sea. |
topic_facet |
Antarctica Larsen C Ice Shelf Weddell Sea benthic assemblages benthic biodiversity climate change coastal polynya continental shelf functional groups ice shelf |
description |
Ice shelves cover ~1.6 million km2 of the Antarctic continental shelf and are sensitive indicators of climate change. With ice-shelf retreat, aphotic marine environments transform into new open-water spaces of photo-induced primary production and associated organic matter export to the benthos. Predicting how Antarctic seafloor assemblages may develop following ice-shelf loss requires knowledge of assemblages bordering the ice-shelf margins, which are relatively undocumented. This study investigated seafloor assemblages, by taxa and functional groups, in a coastal polynya adjacent to the Larsen C Ice Shelf front, western Weddell Sea. The study area is rarely accessed, at the frontline of climate change, and located within a CCAMLR-proposed international marine protected area. Four sites, ~1 to 16 km from the ice-shelf front, were explored for megabenthic assemblages, and potential environmental drivers of assemblage structures were assessed. Faunal density increased with distance from the ice shelf, with epifaunal deposit-feeders a surrogate for overall density trends. Faunal richness did not exhibit a significant pattern with distance from the ice shelf and was most variable at sites closest to the ice-shelf front. Faunal assemblages significantly differed in composition among sites, and those nearest to the ice shelf were the most dissimilar; however, ice-shelf proximity did not emerge as a significant driver of assemblage structure. Overall, the study found a biologically-diverse and complex seafloor environment close to an ice-shelf front and provides ecological baselines for monitoring benthic ecosystem responses to environmental change, supporting marine management. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Frinault, Bétina AV Christie, Frazer DW Fawcett, Sarah E Flynn, Raquel F Hutchinson, Katherine A Montes Strevens, Chloë MJ Taylor, Michelle L Woodall, Lucy C Barnes, David KA |
author_facet |
Frinault, Bétina AV Christie, Frazer DW Fawcett, Sarah E Flynn, Raquel F Hutchinson, Katherine A Montes Strevens, Chloë MJ Taylor, Michelle L Woodall, Lucy C Barnes, David KA |
author_sort |
Frinault, Bétina AV |
title |
Antarctic Seabed Assemblages in an Ice-Shelf-Adjacent Polynya, Western Weddell Sea. |
title_short |
Antarctic Seabed Assemblages in an Ice-Shelf-Adjacent Polynya, Western Weddell Sea. |
title_full |
Antarctic Seabed Assemblages in an Ice-Shelf-Adjacent Polynya, Western Weddell Sea. |
title_fullStr |
Antarctic Seabed Assemblages in an Ice-Shelf-Adjacent Polynya, Western Weddell Sea. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Antarctic Seabed Assemblages in an Ice-Shelf-Adjacent Polynya, Western Weddell Sea. |
title_sort |
antarctic seabed assemblages in an ice-shelf-adjacent polynya, western weddell sea. |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/345725 https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.93147 |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic Weddell Sea Weddell |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic Weddell Sea Weddell |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Weddell Sea |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Weddell Sea |
op_source |
essn: 2079-7737 nlmid: 101587988 |
op_relation |
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/345725 doi:10.17863/CAM.93147 |
op_rights |
Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.93147 |
_version_ |
1789960457495248896 |