Assessing distribution shifts and ecophysiological characteristics of the only Antarctic winged midge under climate change scenarios

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Contador, Tamara, Gañán, Melisa, Bizama, Gustavo, Fuentes-Jaque, Guillermo, Morales, Luis, Rendoll, Javier, Simoes, Felipe, Kennedy, James H., Rozzi, Ricardo, 1960-, Convey, Peter
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Nature 2020
• Subjects: ecophysiology; biogeography; ecological modeling; climate change; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-65571-3; https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1934198/

Article integrating ecophysiological information with the development of new high-resolution climatic layers for Antarctica, to better understand how the distribution of P. steinenii may respond to change over the next century under different IPCC climate change scenarios. The authors conclude that the species has the potential to expand its distribution to include parts of the west and east coasts of the Antarctic Peninsula and even coastal ice-free areas in parts of continental Antarctica. The authors also propose P. steinenii as an effective native sentinel and indicator species of climate change in the Antarctic.