Pelagic-Benthic Coupling, Food Banks, and Climate Change on the West Antarctic Peninsula Shelf

Smith, Craig R.; DeMaster, David J.; Thomas, Carrie J.; Sršen, Pavica; Grange, Laura J.; Evrard, Victor; Deleo, Fabio

doi:10.5670/oceanog.2012.94

Cited by 53 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…() provided hints summarized by Gutt () that a system with high phytoplankton production supports a more simple benthic system that that with a lower phytoplankton (food) supply. Latitudinal studies along a sea‐ice gradient on the WAP suggest that macrofaunal species diversity may increase linearly with sea‐ice loss on the shelf, while standing crop of macro‐ and megabenthos may exhibit abrupt changes (or tipping points) as annual sea‐ice duration declines (Smith et al ., ). Jones et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…At least Dayton et al (1974) provided hints summarized by Gutt (2006) that a system with high phytoplankton production supports a more simple benthic system that that with a lower phytoplankton (food) supply. Latitudinal studies along a sea-ice gradient on the WAP suggest that macrofaunal species diversity may increase linearly with sea-ice loss on the shelf, while standing crop of macro-and megabenthos may exhibit abrupt changes (or tipping points) as annual sea-ice duration declines (Smith et al, 2012b). Jones et al (2014) predicted a global decrease by 2100 but increases in the SO in benthic biomass, which may result from climate-induced changes in the export flux from the euphotic layer to the specious deep-sea benthos (Brandt et al, 2014).…”

Section: Sea-ice Habitatmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Particular efforts have been undertaken to assemble findings on biological responses to climate change (Turner et al ., , ), but did not quantify them. A number of reviews further focused on single processes and on particular organisms or provided overviews, conclusions or concepts (e.g., Clarke et al ., ; Aronson et al ., , ; Murphy et al ., ; Brandt & Gutt, ; Gutt et al ., ; Ingels et al ., ; Mintenbeck et al ., ; Smith et al ., ,b; Constable et al ., ; Brandt et al ., ). Notably, to study cumulative effects of multiple stressors has recently been identified as important and one of the 80 priority questions for future research in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean (Rogers & Laffoley, ; Kennicutt et al ., ,b) since they have never been studied in detail in the SO, defined as the ocean south of the Polar Front according to Sokolov & Rintoul ().…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Southern Ocean ecosystem under multiple climate change stresses ‐ an integrated circumpolar assessment

Gutt

Bertler

Bracegirdle

et al. 2015

Global Change Biology

194

168

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A quantitative assessment of observed and projected environmental changes in the Southern Ocean (SO) with a potential impact on the marine ecosystem shows: (i) large proportions of the SO are and will be affected by one or more climate change processes; areas projected to be affected in the future are larger than areas that are already under environmental stress, (ii) areas affected by changes in sea‐ice in the past and likely in the future are much larger than areas affected by ocean warming. The smallest areas (<1% area of the SO) are affected by glacier retreat and warming in the deeper euphotic layer. In the future, decrease in the sea‐ice is expected to be widespread. Changes in iceberg impact resulting from further collapse of ice‐shelves can potentially affect large parts of shelf and ephemerally in the off‐shore regions. However, aragonite undersaturation (acidification) might become one of the biggest problems for the Antarctic marine ecosystem by affecting almost the entire SO. Direct and indirect impacts of various environmental changes to the three major habitats, sea‐ice, pelagic and benthos and their biota are complex. The areas affected by environmental stressors range from 33% of the SO for a single stressor, 11% for two and 2% for three, to <1% for four and five overlapping factors. In the future, areas expected to be affected by 2 and 3 overlapping factors are equally large, including potential iceberg changes, and together cover almost 86% of the SO ecosystem.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Sea-ice Habitatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Southern Ocean ecosystem under multiple climate change stresses ‐ an integrated circumpolar assessment

Gutt

Bertler

Bracegirdle

et al. 2015

Global Change Biology

194

168

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Longer open water duration and lower phytoplankton carbon biomass could have implications for the upper trophic level consumers of the food web that rely on phytoplankton carbon for food. A shift in food web dynamics related to changes in phytoplankton community composition is likely to impact both food quantity and quality, comparable to those observed in the northern Bering Sea (Grebmeier et al, ) and western Antarctic Peninsula where the phytoplankton community has shifted from mainly large diatoms to picophytoplankton and nanoflagellates (Moline et al, ; Montes‐Hugo et al, ; Smith et al, ). Notably, we applied a sea ice index that served as a proxy for the seasonality that controls phytoplankton life strategies in this region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unraveling Phytoplankton Community Dynamics in the Northern Chukchi Sea Under Sea‐Ice‐Covered and Sea‐Ice‐Free Conditions

Neeley

Harris

Frey

2018

Geophysical Research Letters

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The timing of sea ice retreat, light availability, and sea surface stratification largely control the phytoplankton community composition in the Chukchi Sea. This region is experiencing a significant warming trend, an overall decrease in sea ice cover, and a documented decline in annual sea ice persistence and thickness over the past several decades. The consequences of earlier seasonal sea ice retreat and a longer sea‐ice‐free season on phytoplankton community composition warrant investigation. We applied multivariate statistical techniques to elucidate the mechanisms that relate environmental variables to phytoplankton community composition in the Chukchi Sea using data collected during a single field campaign in the summer of 2011. Three phytoplankton groups emerged that were correlated with sea ice, sea surface temperature, nutrients, salinity, and light. Longer ice‐free duration in a future Chukchi Sea will result in warmer sea surface temperatures and nutrient depletion, which we conclude will favor other phytoplankton types over larger diatoms.

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“…These pulses provide the major organic flux to the benthos, although the temporal relationship of flux to biomass accumulation can vary . The organic matter can, in some locations, accumulate as green mats on the seabed (Gutt et al, 1998;Smith and DeMaster, 2008;C.R. Smith et al, 2012), providing a high quality food supply for benthos during the autumn and winter months (Mincks et al, 2005;Isla et al, 2006b) when the pelagic input of organic matter to the benthic realm is negligible (Wefer and Fischer, 1991;Dower et al, 1996;Palanques et al, 2002;Isla et al, 2006b).…”

Section: Impacts Of Advection On the Antarctic Benthosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advection in polar and sub-polar environments: Impacts on high latitude marine ecosystems

Hunt

Drinkwater

Arrigo

et al. 2016

Progress in Oceanography

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a b s t r a c tWe compare and contrast the ecological impacts of atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns on polar and sub-polar marine ecosystems. Circulation patterns differ strikingly between the north and south. Meridional circulation in the north provides connections between the sub-Arctic and Arctic despite the presence of encircling continental landmasses, whereas annular circulation patterns in the south tend to isolate Antarctic surface waters from those in the north. These differences influence fundamental aspects of the polar ecosystems from the amount, thickness and duration of sea ice, to the types of organisms, and the ecology of zooplankton, fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Meridional flows in both the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans transport heat, nutrients, and plankton northward into the Chukchi Sea, the Barents Sea, and the seas off the west coast of Greenland. In the North Atlantic, the advected heat warms the waters of the southern Barents Sea and, with advected nutrients and plankton, supports immense biomasses of fish, seabirds and marine mammals. On the Pacific side of the Arctic, cold waters flowing northward across the northern Bering and Chukchi seas during winter and spring limit the ability of boreal fish species to take advantage of high seasonal production there. Southward flow of cold Arctic waters into sub-Arctic regions of the North Atlantic occurs mainly through Fram Strait with less through the Barents Sea and the Canadian Archipelago. In the Pacific, the transport of Arctic waters and plankton southward through Bering Strait is minimal.In the Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and its associated fronts are barriers to the southward dispersal of plankton and pelagic fishes from sub-Antarctic waters, with the consequent evolution of Antarctic zooplankton and fish species largely occurring in isolation from those to the north. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current also disperses biota throughout the Southern Ocean, and as a result, the biota tends to be similar within a given broad latitudinal band. South of the Southern Boundary of the ACC, there is a large-scale divergence that brings nutrient-rich water to the surface. This divergence, along with more localized upwelling regions and deep vertical convection in winter, generates elevated nutrient levels throughout the Antarctic at the end of austral winter. However, such elevated nutrient levels do not support elevated phytoplankton productivity through the entire Southern Ocean, as iron concentrations are rapidly removed to limiting levels by spring blooms in deep waters. However, coastal http://dx

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Pelagic-Benthic Coupling, Food Banks, and Climate Change on the West Antarctic Peninsula Shelf

Cited by 53 publications

References 12 publications

The Southern Ocean ecosystem under multiple climate change stresses ‐ an integrated circumpolar assessment

The Southern Ocean ecosystem under multiple climate change stresses ‐ an integrated circumpolar assessment

Unraveling Phytoplankton Community Dynamics in the Northern Chukchi Sea Under Sea‐Ice‐Covered and Sea‐Ice‐Free Conditions

Advection in polar and sub-polar environments: Impacts on high latitude marine ecosystems

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