Volcanoes as safe-havens for Antarctic species during ice ages

了解植物和动物如何对过去的气候变化做出反应，可以帮助我们预测未来可能发生的事情，然而，我们对过去过程的了解仍存在关键空白。遗传证据表明，许多南极物种已经在这片大陆上隔离了数百万年，但在上一个冰河时期，南极洲被冰川覆盖。物种是如何在如此极端的条件下生存下来的？它们是如何对过去的全球变暖做出反应的？该项目将分析遗传多样性模式，以测试南极物种是否在火山附近的无冰陆地上幸存下来，并且利用南极洲的独特环境，将深入了解火山在促进寒冷地区生物多样性方面的作用。

Understanding how plants and animals responded to past changes in climate can help us to predict what might happen in the future, yet there are key gaps in our knowledge of past processes. Genetic evidence shows that many Antarctic species have been isolated on the continent for millions of years, but during the last Ice Age, Antarctica was blanketed in glaciers. How could species have survived such extreme conditions and how did they respond to past global warming? This project will analyse genetic diversity patterns to test whether Antarctic species survived ice ages on ice-free land near volcanoes and, capitalising on the unique setting of Antarctica, will give insights into the role of volcanoes in promoting biodiversity in cold regions.