Spatial and temporal variability across life’s hierarchies in the terrestrial Antarctic
Antarctica and its surrounding islands lie at one extreme of global variation in diversity. Typically, these regions are characterized as being species poor and having simple food webs. Here, we show that terrestrial systems in the region are nonetheless characterized by substantial spatial and temp...
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ftunstellenbosch:oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/119988 2023-11-12T04:08:17+01:00 Spatial and temporal variability across life’s hierarchies in the terrestrial Antarctic Chown, S.L. Convey, P. 2010-10-18T08:05:46Z 697251 bytes application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/119988 en eng The Royal Society Chown, S.L. and Convey, P. (2007). Spatial and temporal variability across life’s hierarchies in the terrestrial Antarctic. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 362, 2307-2331 http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/119988 biogeography biological invasions climate change conservation planning extinction phenotypic plasticity JournalArticles 2010 ftunstellenbosch 2023-10-22T07:39:52Z Antarctica and its surrounding islands lie at one extreme of global variation in diversity. Typically, these regions are characterized as being species poor and having simple food webs. Here, we show that terrestrial systems in the region are nonetheless characterized by substantial spatial and temporal variations at virtually all of the levels of the genealogical and ecological hierarchies which have been thoroughly investigated. Spatial variation at the individual and population levels has been documented in a variety of genetic studies, and in mosses it appears that UV-B radiation might be responsible for within-clump mutagenesis. At the species level, modern molecular methods have revealed considerable endemism of the Antarctic biota, questioning ideas that small organisms are likely to be ubiquitous and the taxa to which they belong species poor. At the biogeographic level, much of the relatively small ice-free area of Antarctica remains unsurveyed making analyses difficult. Nonetheless, it is clear that a major biogeographic discontinuity separates the Antarctic Peninsula and continental Antarctica, here named the ‘Gressitt Line’. Across the Southern Ocean islands, patterns are clearer, and energy availability is an important correlate of indigenous and exotic species richness, while human visitor numbers explain much of the variation in the latter too. Temporal variation at the individual level has much to do with phenotypic plasticity, and considerable lifehistory and physiological plasticity seems to be a characteristic of Antarctic terrestrial species. Environmental unpredictability is an important driver of this trait and has significantly influenced life histories across the region and probably throughout much of the temperate Southern Hemisphere. Rapid climate change-related alterations in the range and abundance of several Antarctic and sub- Antarctic populations have taken place over the past several decades. In many sub-Antarctic locations, these have been exacerbated by direct and indirect ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Southern Ocean Stellenbosch University: SUNScholar Research Repository Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Stellenbosch University: SUNScholar Research Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunstellenbosch |
language |
English |
topic |
biogeography biological invasions climate change conservation planning extinction phenotypic plasticity |
spellingShingle |
biogeography biological invasions climate change conservation planning extinction phenotypic plasticity Chown, S.L. Convey, P. Spatial and temporal variability across life’s hierarchies in the terrestrial Antarctic |
topic_facet |
biogeography biological invasions climate change conservation planning extinction phenotypic plasticity |
description |
Antarctica and its surrounding islands lie at one extreme of global variation in diversity. Typically, these regions are characterized as being species poor and having simple food webs. Here, we show that terrestrial systems in the region are nonetheless characterized by substantial spatial and temporal variations at virtually all of the levels of the genealogical and ecological hierarchies which have been thoroughly investigated. Spatial variation at the individual and population levels has been documented in a variety of genetic studies, and in mosses it appears that UV-B radiation might be responsible for within-clump mutagenesis. At the species level, modern molecular methods have revealed considerable endemism of the Antarctic biota, questioning ideas that small organisms are likely to be ubiquitous and the taxa to which they belong species poor. At the biogeographic level, much of the relatively small ice-free area of Antarctica remains unsurveyed making analyses difficult. Nonetheless, it is clear that a major biogeographic discontinuity separates the Antarctic Peninsula and continental Antarctica, here named the ‘Gressitt Line’. Across the Southern Ocean islands, patterns are clearer, and energy availability is an important correlate of indigenous and exotic species richness, while human visitor numbers explain much of the variation in the latter too. Temporal variation at the individual level has much to do with phenotypic plasticity, and considerable lifehistory and physiological plasticity seems to be a characteristic of Antarctic terrestrial species. Environmental unpredictability is an important driver of this trait and has significantly influenced life histories across the region and probably throughout much of the temperate Southern Hemisphere. Rapid climate change-related alterations in the range and abundance of several Antarctic and sub- Antarctic populations have taken place over the past several decades. In many sub-Antarctic locations, these have been exacerbated by direct and indirect ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Chown, S.L. Convey, P. |
author_facet |
Chown, S.L. Convey, P. |
author_sort |
Chown, S.L. |
title |
Spatial and temporal variability across life’s hierarchies in the terrestrial Antarctic |
title_short |
Spatial and temporal variability across life’s hierarchies in the terrestrial Antarctic |
title_full |
Spatial and temporal variability across life’s hierarchies in the terrestrial Antarctic |
title_fullStr |
Spatial and temporal variability across life’s hierarchies in the terrestrial Antarctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatial and temporal variability across life’s hierarchies in the terrestrial Antarctic |
title_sort |
spatial and temporal variability across life’s hierarchies in the terrestrial antarctic |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/119988 |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
Chown, S.L. and Convey, P. (2007). Spatial and temporal variability across life’s hierarchies in the terrestrial Antarctic. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 362, 2307-2331 http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/119988 |
_version_ |
1782328608926203904 |