Date: January 17, 2019
Source: Frontiers
Marine
Antarctic animals closely associated with sea ice for food or breeding, such
the humpback whale and emperor penguin, are most at risk from the predicted
effects of climate change, finds a new study published in Frontiers in
Marine Science. Using risk assessments like those used for setting occupational
safety limits in the workplace, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey
determined the winners and losers of Antarctic climate-change impacts, which
includes temperature rise, sea-ice reduction and changes in food availability.
They show that seafloor predators and open-water feeding animals, like starfish
and jellyfish, will benefit from the opening up of new habitat.
"One
of the strongest signals of climate change in the Western Antarctic is the loss
of sea ice, receding glaciers and the break-up of ice shelves," says Dr
Simon Morley, lead author, based at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), UK.
"Climate change will affect shallow water first, challenging the animals
who live in this habitat in the very near future. While we show that many
Antarctic marine species will benefit from the opening up of new areas of sea
floor as habitat, those associated with sea ice are very much at risk."
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