Biodiversity change after climate-induced ice-shelf collapse in the Antarctic

Gutt, Julian; Barratt, Iain; Domack, Eugene W.; d’Acoz, Cédric d’Udekem; Dimmler, Werner; Grémare, Antoine; Heilmayer, Olaf; Isla, Enrique; Janussen, Dorte; Jorgensen, Elaina; Kock, Karl-Hermann; Lehnert, Linn Sophia; López-Gonzáles, Pablo José; Langner, Stephanie; Linse, Katrin; Manjón‐Cabeza, María Eugenia; Meißner, Meike; Montiel, Américo; Raes, Maarten; Robert, Henri; Rose, Armin; Schepisi, Elisabet Sañé; Saucède, Thomas; Scheidat, Meike; Schenke, Hans-Werner; Seiler, Jan; Smith, Craig R.

doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.05.024

Cited by 145 publications

(154 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The MGT is thought to calve massive icebergs in a ∼70 year cycle (Campagne et al, 2015;Giles, 2017), meaning that there are likely also differences in the long-term stability of environmental conditions, and in the frequency of iceberg-scour between the Mertz Bank near the MGT and the Adélie Bank in the West of the George V shelf. Studies on the West Antarctic Peninsula suggest that at least some components of Antarctic benthic communities on the shelf, such as glass sponges and pioneering species, can increase rapidly in areas that are newly ice-free, fueled by higher export of surface production (Gutt et al, 2011;Fillinger et al, 2013). Conversely, slower-growing deep-sea corals and bryozoans may respond more slowly to changing environmental conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When an ice-shelf calves a massive iceberg or collapses entirely, the marine environment, to which species might have acclimated to for many years, can transition quickly between a food-poor and a food-rich system (Gutt et al, 2011). The MGT is thought to calve massive icebergs in a ∼70 year cycle (Campagne et al, 2015;Giles, 2017), meaning that there are likely also differences in the long-term stability of environmental conditions, and in the frequency of iceberg-scour between the Mertz Bank near the MGT and the Adélie Bank in the West of the George V shelf.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seafloor communities represent the richest component of Antarctic biodiversity (Griffiths, 2010), are highly endemic (Griffiths et al, 2009), and play an important role in the marine ecosystem (Thurber et al, 2014). However, despite evidence that a changing environment influences the distribution of these communities (Gutt et al, 2011(Gutt et al, , 2013Fillinger et al, 2013;Griffiths et al, 2017), no study has so far quantified and mapped how their distribution might change due to a changing icescape at the ocean surface. One of the reasons for the lack of quantitative studies is that although surface-derived food is one of the main drivers, it is only recently that the nature and strength of this relationship has been quantified on the Antarctic shelf using a so-called Food-Availability-Model (FAM) .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The collapse of large ice-shelves or calving of massive icebergs, and the retreat of sea-ice that is mainly observed around the Western Antarctic Peninsula in recent years (Parkinson and Cavalieri, 2012), can dramatically alter the oceanographic setting with down-stream effects on the pattern of primary production hotspots and on Southern Ocean ecosystems (Arrigo et al, 2002;Gutt et al, 2011). Resulting changes in the location, timing and intensity of phytoplankton blooms (Cape et al, 2014) can influence the distribution of krill and predator aggregations (Gutt et al, 2011), the abundances of benthic suspension feeders Gutt et al, 2013) and can affect carbon storage (Peck et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mapping Antarctic Suspension Feeder Abundances and Seafloor Food-Availability, and Modeling Their Change After a Major Glacier Calving

et al. 2018

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Seafloor communities are a critical part of the unique and diverse Antarctic marine life. Processes at the ocean-surface can strongly influence the diversity and abundance of these communities, even when they live at hundreds of meters water depth. However, even though we understand the importance of this link, there are so far no quantitative spatial predictions on how seafloor communities will respond to changing conditions at the ocean surface. Here, we map patterns in abundance of important habitat-forming suspension feeders on the seafloor in East Antarctica, and predict how these patterns change after a major disturbance in the icescape, caused by the calving of the Mertz Glacier Tongue. We use a purpose-built ocean model for the time-period before and after the calving of the Mertz-Glacier Tongue in 2010, data from satellites and a validated food-availability model to estimate changes in horizontal flux of food since the glacier calving. We then predict the post-calving distribution of suspension feeder abundances using the established relationships with the environmental variables, and changes in horizontal flux of food. Our resulting maps indicate strong increases in suspension feeder abundances close to the glacier calving site, fueled by increased food supply, while the remainder of the region maintains similar suspension feeder abundances despite a slight decrease in total food supply. The oceanographic setting of the entire region changes, with a shorter ice-free season, altered seafloor currents and changes in food-availability. Our study provides important insight into the flow-on effects of a changing icescape on seafloor habitat and fauna in polar environments. Understanding these connections is important in the context of current and future effects of climate change, and the mapped predictions of the seafloor fauna as presented for the study region can be used as a decision-tool for planning potential marine protected areas, and for focusing future sampling and monitoring initiatives.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mapping Antarctic Suspension Feeder Abundances and Seafloor Food-Availability, and Modeling Their Change After a Major Glacier Calving

et al. 2018

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“…In the Weddell Sea and off the Antarctic Peninsula, benthic communities have been studied by means of both corers (e.g., Gerdes et al 1992Gerdes et al , 2003Gerdes et al , 2008Sañé et al 2012) and seabed imaging (e.g., Gutt and Piepenburg 2003;Gutt et al 2011Gutt et al , 2013Fillinger et al 2013). Despite the fact that these methods complement each other, studies using both approaches in a comparative manner are scarce.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seabed images versus corer sampling: a comparison of two quantitative approaches for the analysis of marine benthic communities in the southern Weddell Sea (Southern Ocean)

Pineda-Metz

Gerdes

2017

Polar Biol

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Polynya dynamics drive primary production in the Larsen A and B embayments following ice shelf collapse

et al. 2014

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[1] The climate-driven collapses of the Larsen A and B ice shelves have opened up new regions of the coastal Antarctic to the influence of sea ice resulting in increases in seasonal primary production. In this study, passive microwave remote sensing of sea ice concentration and satellite imagery of ocean color are employed to quantify the magnitude of and variability in open water area and net primary productivity (NPP) in the Larsen embayments between 1997 and 2011. Numerical model output provides context to analyze atmospheric forcing on the coastal ocean. Following ice shelf disintegration the embayments function as coastal, sensible heat polynyas. The Larsen A and B are as productive as other Antarctic shelf regions, with seasonally averaged daily NPP rates reaching 1232 and 1127 mg C m 22 d 21 and annual rates reaching 200 and 184 g C m 22 yr 21 , respectively. A persistent cross-shelf gradient in NPP is present with higher productivity rates offshore, contrasting with patterns observed along the West Antarctic Peninsula. Embayment productivity is intimately tied to sea ice dynamics, with large interannual variability in NPP rates driven by open water area and the timing of embayment opening. Opening of the embayment is linked to periods of positive Southern Annular Mode and stronger westerlies, which lead to the vertical deflection of warm, maritime air over the peninsula and down the leeward side causing increases in surface air temperature and wind velocity. High productivity in these new polynyas is likely to have ramifications for organic matter export and marine ecosystem evolution.Citation: Cape, M. R., M. Vernet, M. Kahru, and G. Spreen (2014), Polynya dynamics drive primary production in the Larsen A and B embayments following ice-shelf collapse,

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Biodiversity change after climate-induced ice-shelf collapse in the Antarctic

Cited by 145 publications

References 43 publications

Mapping Antarctic Suspension Feeder Abundances and Seafloor Food-Availability, and Modeling Their Change After a Major Glacier Calving

Mapping Antarctic Suspension Feeder Abundances and Seafloor Food-Availability, and Modeling Their Change After a Major Glacier Calving

Seabed images versus corer sampling: a comparison of two quantitative approaches for the analysis of marine benthic communities in the southern Weddell Sea (Southern Ocean)

Polynya dynamics drive primary production in the Larsen A and B embayments following ice shelf collapse

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