According to a study on the effects of global warming on Antarctic biodiversity is out of balance, the expected spread of ice-free areas will have an impact on local wildlife and vegetation, opening the continent up to the introduction of alien species.
Researchers from Australia, the UK, and the United States, including Dr. Justine Shaw of Queensland University of Technology and Dr. Jasmine Lee, a research fellow at the British Antarctic Survey, were part of an international team of women-only researchers who published their findings in the journal Global Change Biology. Drs. Shaw and Lee are researchers with the Australian Research Council’s Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF) special research initiative.
While permanently ice-free land currently only covers less than 1% of Antarctica, according to Dr. Lee, the study’s first author, it is anticipated to grow by about 25% by the year 2100. The majority of Antarctica’s terrestrial wildlife, including its famous seabirds, depends on ice-free land for nesting, making it an essential ecosystem.
According to Dr. Lee, “We know that there will be thousands of square kilometers of new ice-free territory, and the warmer temperatures and more accessible water will produce new habitats suitable for colonization, which will favor certain species and not others.”
“Unfortunately, milder climates will also make it easier for alien plant and animal species to invade.”
While certain species would prosper with the increased habitat regions, it was unclear if they might diminish at a certain level, according to Dr. Shaw, who has spent the last 20 years researching Macquarie Island in the sub-Antarctic and Antarctica.
Dr. Shaw stated that as the ice melts, “many species of flora and animals, including the gentoo penguins, will have new habitat accessible.”
“That may be considered a benefit of having an extra breeding area, at least for those colonies, but other species of Antarctic penguins won’t be able to adapt to the changing climate.”
Additionally, the newly formed ice-free sections of land will be connected to one another and will no longer be isolated from one another.
Some species may suffer as a result because they will have to contend with increased competition from other native species as well as potential invasions by non-native species. This make biodiversity is out of balance.
In order to better comprehend the effects of the new ice-free areas, the study lists the ten principal research topics that must be answered by Antarctic researchers.
These questions include which species will thrive in the newly exposed soil, whether invasive non-native species would harm some native species, and how we should handle non-native species that come about naturally.
Professor Kerrie Wilson, the Deputy Director of SAEF and Pro Vice-Chancellor for Sustainability and Research Integrity at QUT, said that QUT academics were making significant contributions to Antarctic research in a variety of ways.
The SAEF initiatives engage a variety of specialists, including ecologists, applied mathematicians, data and conservation scientists, engineers, and experts in data visualization.
They are researching the past and present of Antarctica and developing the science, technology, and policy required to protect the region’s distinctive biodiversity and vital environment well into the future balance.
“A larger commitment to sustainability research, education, and practice is made by QUT, and this commitment extends to our research into Antarctica and many other environments around the world.”
Caitlin Selfe and Margaret Smith, two QUT higher degree researchers, are at the moment conducting fieldwork for SAEF’s second season with funding from the Australian Antarctic Program on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island. Additionally, ANSTO (the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation) supports the duo.
In order to understand how the climate has changed over the last 12,000 years and how lakes on the island may change, Ms. Selfe will study lake sediments and peat cores. To ascertain how seabird populations and vegetation communities have changed over time, Ms. Smith will conduct research on environmental change over time.
