The impacts of past climate change on sub-Antarctic nearshore ecosystems

Pleistocene glacial–interglacial cycles would have resulted in drastic changes in the structure of sub-Antarctic littoral ecosystems. Genetic data indicate that the large kelps that dominate intertidal and shallow subtidal sub-Antarctic shores today (such as Macrocystis pyrifera and Durvillaea antar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania
Main Author: Fraser, C
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Royal Society of Tasmania
RST
Van Diemens Land
natural history
science
ecology
taxonomy
botany
zoology
geology
geography
papers & proceedings
Australia
sub-Antarctic
ice scour
postglacial recolonisation
rafting
West Wind Drift
global warming
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Antarctica
Sea ice
Online Access:https://eprints.utas.edu.au/22529/
https://eprints.utas.edu.au/22529/7/10%20Fraser.pdf
Description
Summary:Pleistocene glacial–interglacial cycles would have resulted in drastic changes in the structure of sub-Antarctic littoral ecosystems. Genetic data indicate that the large kelps that dominate intertidal and shallow subtidal sub-Antarctic shores today (such as Macrocystis pyrifera and Durvillaea antarctica) were extirpated from these high latitude regions by sea ice scour during glacial maxima. These macroalgae, and their associated faunal communities, were able to return to the sub-Antarctic islands during interglacial periods by drifting at sea in the path of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. During glacial maxima, sub-Antarctic littoral communities would have been severely reduced, comprising mainly ice-scour hardy taxa such as small and/or seasonal macroalgae, and mobile molluscs.

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