Community dynamics of nematodes after Larsen ice-shelf collapse in the eastern Antarctic Peninsula

• Published in: Ecology and Evolution
• Main Authors: Hauquier, Freija, Ballesteros-Redondo, Laura, Gutt, Julian, Vanreusel, Ann
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Biology and Life Sciences; biodiversity; colonisation; Larsen B; ice-shelf collapse; community dynamics; marine free-living Nematoda; Microlaimus; Halomonhystera; LIVING MARINE NEMATODES; CLIMATE-CHANGE; GENETIC-STRUCTURE; SOUTHERN-OCEAN; B EMBAYMENTS; WEDDELL SEA; MEIOFAUNA; SEDIMENTS; ASSEMBLAGES; DIVERSITY; Antarctic; Southern Ocean; Antarctic Peninsula; Weddell Sea; Weddell; Larsen Ice Shelf; Antarc*; Ice Shelf
• Online Access: https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/7023066; http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-7023066; https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1869; https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/7023066/file/7045114

Free-living marine nematode communities of the Larsen B embayment at the eastern Antarctic Peninsula were investigated to provide insights on their response and colonisation rate after large-scale ice-shelf collapse. This study compares published data on the post-collapse situation from 2007 with new material from 2011, focusing on two locations in the embayment that showed highly divergent communities in 2007 and that are characterised by a difference in timing of ice-shelf breakup. Data from 2007 exposed a more diverse community at outer station B.South, dominated by the genus Microlaimus. On the contrary, station B.West in the inner part of Larsen B was poor in both numbers of individuals and genera, with dominance of a single Halomonhystera species. Re-assessment of the situation in 2011 showed that communities at both stations diverged even more, due to a drastic increase in Halomonhystera at B.West compared to relatively little change at B.South. On a broader geographical scale, it seems that B.South gradually starts resembling other Antarctic shelf communities, although absence of the genus Sabatieria and high abundance of Microlaimus still set it apart nine years after the main Larsen B collapse. In contrast, thriving of Halomonhystera at B.West further separates its community from other Antarctic shelf areas.