The changing form of Antarctic biodiversity

Antarctic biodiversity is much more extensive, ecologically diverse and biogeographically structured than previously thought. Understanding of how this diversity is distributed in marine and terrestrial systems, the mechanisms underlying its spatial variation, and the significance of the microbiota...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNature (London) Vol. 522; no. 7557; pp. 431 - 438
Main Authors Chown, Steven L, Clarke, Andrew, Fraser, Ceridwen I, Cary, S Craig, Moon, Katherine L, McGeoch, Melodie A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Nature Publishing Group 25.06.2015
Subjects
Animals
Antarctic Regions
Aquatic Organisms - genetics
Aquatic Organisms - isolation & purification
Biodiversity
Conservation of Natural Resources - trends
Ecology
Ecosystems
Evolution
Forecasts and trends
Human Activities
Microbiota - genetics
Microbiota - physiology
Oceans and Seas
Antarctic Regions
Antarctica
Antarctic region
Southern Ocean
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Summary:Antarctic biodiversity is much more extensive, ecologically diverse and biogeographically structured than previously thought. Understanding of how this diversity is distributed in marine and terrestrial systems, the mechanisms underlying its spatial variation, and the significance of the microbiota is growing rapidly. Broadly recognizable drivers of diversity variation include energy availability and historical refugia. The impacts of local human activities and global environmental change nonetheless pose challenges to the current and future understanding of Antarctic biodiversity. Life in the Antarctic and the Southern Ocean is surprisingly rich, and as much at risk from environmental change as it is elsewhere.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
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ObjectType-Review-1
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/nature14505