Antarctic Seabed Assemblages in an Ice-Shelf-Adjacent Polynya, Western Weddell Sea

Frinault, Bétina A.V.; Christie, Frazer D.W.; Fawcett, Sarah E.; Flynn, Raquel F.; Hutchinson, Katherine A.; Montes Strevens, Chloë M. J.; Taylor, Michelle L.; Woodall, Lucy C.; Barnes, David K.A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9076-7867. 2022 Antarctic Seabed Assemblages in an Ice-Shelf-Adjacent Polynya, Western Weddell Sea [in special issue: Polar Ecosystem: Response of Organisms to Changing Climate] Biology, 11 (12), 1705. 28, pp. 10.3390/biology11121705

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Abstract/Summary

Ice shelves cover ~1.6 million km2 of the Antarctic continental shelf and are sensitive indicators of climate change. With ice-shelf retreat, aphotic marine environments transform into new open-water spaces of photo-induced primary production and associated organic matter export to the benthos. Predicting how Antarctic seafloor assemblages may develop following ice-shelf loss requires knowledge of assemblages bordering the ice-shelf margins, which are relatively undocumented. This study investigated seafloor assemblages, by taxa and functional groups, in a coastal polynya adjacent to the Larsen C Ice Shelf front, western Weddell Sea. The study area is rarely accessed, at the frontline of climate change, and located within a CCAMLR-proposed international marine protected area. Four sites, ~1 to 16 km from the ice-shelf front, were explored for megabenthic assemblages, and potential environmental drivers of assemblage structures were assessed. Faunal density increased with distance from the ice shelf, with epifaunal deposit-feeders a surrogate for overall density trends. Faunal richness did not exhibit a significant pattern with distance from the ice shelf and was most variable at sites closest to the ice-shelf front. Faunal assemblages significantly differed in composition among sites, and those nearest to the ice shelf were the most dissimilar; however, ice-shelf proximity did not emerge as a significant driver of assemblage structure. Overall, the study found a biologically-diverse and complex seafloor environment close to an ice-shelf front and provides ecological baselines for monitoring benthic ecosystem responses to environmental change, supporting marine management.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.3390/biology11121705
ISSN:	2079-7737
Additional Keywords:	climate change; ice shelf; continental shelf; coastal polynya; benthic assemblages; benthic biodiversity; functional groups; Larsen C Ice Shelf; Antarctica; Weddell Sea
Date made live:	29 Nov 2022 12:23 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/533638

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