The Dynamic Mosaic Disturbance and Development of Antarctic Benthic Communities

The continental shelf is the platform for many of the
planet’s most productive ecosystems but it is exposed to
high disturbance. At high latitudes, massive grounded
ice sheets have extended and retreated during glaciations
whilst at lower latitudes sea level changes alternately
emerse it as land or deepen it below the euphotic
zone. The magnitude, frequency and mode of disturbances
differ around the planet and in this chapter we
describe these for the the Antarctic region, where icebergs
and the highest wind speeds and wave heights in
the world result in communities in a continuous cycle of
disturbance and recolonization. Concepts of disturbance,
colonization and early development or succession
have been a source of considerable interest to
ecologists for more than a century but now, with
increasing realisation that the world’s coastal areas are
facing unprecedented and accelerating anthropogenic
threats (Jackson et al.,2001) these concepts have assumed
new importance.