Climate change and Southern Ocean ecosystems I: How changes in physical habitats directly affect marine biota.

• Published in: Global Change Biology
• Main Authors: Constable, Andrew J, Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica, Corney, Stuart P, Arrigo, Kevin R, Barbraud, Christophe, Barnes, David K A, Bindoff, Nathaniel L, Boyd, Philip W, Brandt, Angelika, Costa, Daniel P, Davidson, Andrew T, Ducklow, Hugh W, Emmerson, Louise, Fukuchi, Mitsuo, Gutt, Julian, Hindell, Mark A, Hofmann, Eileen E, Hosie, Graham W, Iida, Takahiro, Jacob, Sarah, Johnston, Nadine M, Kawaguchi, So, Kokubun, Nobuo, Koubbi, Philippe, Lea, Mary-Anne, Makhado, Azwianewi, Massom, Rob A, Meiners, Klaus, Meredith, Michael P, Murphy, Eugene J, Nicol, Stephen, Reid, Keith, Richerson, Kate, Riddle, Martin J, Rintoul, Stephen R, Smith, Walker O, Southwell, Colin, Stark, Jonathon S, Sumner, Michael, Swadling, Kerrie M, Takahashi, Kunio T, Trathan, Phil N, Welsford, Dirk C, Weimerskirch, Henri, Westwood, Karen J, Wienecke, Barbara C, Wolf-Gladrow, Dieter, Wright, Simon W, Xavier, Jose C, Ziegler, Philippe
• Other Authors: Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Biocenter Grindel and Zoological Museum, University of Hamburg, Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Energy, National Institute of Polar Research Tokyo (NiPR), Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung = Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research = Institut Alfred-Wegener pour la recherche polaire et marine (AWI), Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft = Helmholtz Association, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Hobart (IMAS), University of Tasmania Hobart, Australia (UTAS), Economics, University of Sussex
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: climate change; ocean acidification; marine ecosystems; Antarctica; sea-ice; plankton; krill; marine mammals; penguins; benthos; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Antarctic; Southern Ocean; Antarc*; Antarctic Krill; Ocean acidification; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00997457; https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12623

International audience Antarctic and Southern Ocean (ASO) marine ecosystems have been changing for at least the last 30 years, including in response to increasing ocean temperatures and changes in the extent and seasonality of sea-ice; the magnitude and direction of these changes differ between regions around Antarctica that could see populations of the same species changing differently in different regions. This paper reviews current and expected changes in ASO physical habitats in response to climate change. It then reviews how these changes may impact the autecology of marine biota of this polar region: microbes, zooplankton, salps, Antarctic krill, fish, cephalopods, marine mammals, seabirds, and benthos. The general prognosis for ASO marine habitats is for an overall warming and freshening, strengthening of westerly winds, with a potential pole-ward movement of those winds and the frontal systems, and an increase in ocean eddy activity. Many habitat parameters will have regionally specific changes, particularly relating to sea-ice characteristics and seasonal dynamics. Lower trophic levels are expected to move south as the ocean conditions in which they are currently found move pole-ward. For Antarctic krill and finfish, the latitudinal breadth of their range will depend on their tolerance of warming oceans and changes to productivity. Ocean acidification is a concern not only for calcifying organisms, but also for crustaceans such as Antarctic krill; it is also likely to be the most important change in benthic habitats over the coming century. For marine mammals and birds, the expected changes primarily relate to their flexibility in moving to alternative locations for food and the energetic cost of longer or more complex foraging trips for those that are bound to breeding colonies. Few species are sufficiently well studied to make comprehensive species-specific vulnerability assessments possible. Priorities for future work are discussed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.