The past, present and future of unique cold-water benthic (sea floor) ecosystems in the Southern Ocean

南大洋独特的冷水底栖（海底）生态系统的过去、现在和未来

基本信息

批准号：
MR/W01002X/1
负责人：
Rowan Jane Whittle
金额：
$ 131.56万
依托单位：
British Antarctic Survey
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Fellowship
财政年份：
2022
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2022 至无数据
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MR%2FW01002X%2F1
关键词：
past present future unique cold

项目摘要

Biodiversity loss and extinction are key issues today, around 1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, many within decades. We rely on these natural resources for survival (e.g. food, drug uses) and leisure (e.g. tourism). Approximately 66% of marine environments have been significantly altered by human actions. The Southern Ocean, surrounding Antarctica is extremely vulnerable to environmental change; it is one of the fastest warming areas on the planet. As such, it is a natural laboratory for understanding environmental change. This fellowship aims to understand the biological response of ecosystems to environmental change, using the Southern Ocean as an example. This project is novel as it will include data on Antarctic sea floor communities from a long-time frame to the present day. To understand how Antarctica has changed over the last 50 million years, I will study the excellent fossil sites found in Antarctica, with well-preserved exposures from warm greenhouse and cool icehouse periods. I will use these past analogues to identify potential effects of climate warming. In addition, I will develop methodologies to understand the structure, function and stability of modern Southern Ocean ecosystems. Combined, this work will provide a step-wise increase in our ability to predict ecosystem disturbance in a changing environment.Southern Ocean sea floor communities here are vulnerable, deemed to be at a high risk from modern environmental change. We need to understand the stability of these communities, and how they formed, to be able to protect them from increasing human influence such as tourism, fishing, and climate change. Most marine biodiversity in Antarctica is found on the sea floor, where animals such as lamp shells, sponges, and sea lilies are common. I am interested in the interactions between these sea floor animals, and between the animals and their environment. Studying the fossil record will also indicate the environmental conditions under which these Southern Ocean communities evolved.I will compare the structure of sea floor animal communities from warm and cold-water periods in Antarctica's history. I will be looking for links between changes in environment, and changes in the composition and interactions of the organisms. This will help inform us of what predator and prey interactions, and environmental conditions caused this unique community to evolve in the first place. Studying the past gives us insights into how disturbances such as rapid climate change can alter biodiversity. For example: at what temperature in the past do we see the ecosystem structure change to what we find on modern Southern Ocean sea floors? If climate change causes temperatures to rise higher than this, it is likely to restructure the community. The fellowship will also look at the modern Southern Ocean sea floor community. A machine learning tool will be developed to identify the composition and structure of modern communities rapidly from photograph and video data. Statistical methods will be used to identify animals that underpin the community structure, and what effects changing their abundance will have on the rest of the community. With my new understanding of the structure, function, and evolution of these unique sea floor communities, I will pinpoint how human induced environmental change, such as warming, and the introduction of invasive species, could affect biodiversity and restructure communities. This work will provide information about how to manage marine areas, guiding the sustainability of activities such as fishing and tourism, in addition to identifying the risks to biodiversity and marine communities from climate change.

生物多样性的丧失和灭绝是当今的关键问题，现在大约有100万个动物和植物物种被灭绝，数十年来很多。我们依靠这些自然资源来生存（例如食品，药物用途）和休闲（例如旅游业）。大约66％的海洋环境已被人类行为显着改变。南极周围的南大洋极易受到环境变化的影响。它是地球上最快的变暖区域之一。因此，它是理解环境变化的自然实验室。该奖学金旨在以南洋为例，以了解生态系统对环境变化的生物学反应。该项目是新颖的，因为它将包括从长期到今天的南极海底社区的数据。为了了解南极洲过去5000万年的变化是如何变化的，我将研究在南极洲发现的出色的化石站点，并从保存完好的温暖温室和凉爽的冰舍时期内进行了保存完好的曝光。我将使用过去的类似物来识别气候变暖的潜在影响。此外，我将开发方法来了解现代南方海洋生态系统的结构，功能和稳定性。合并后，这项工作将为我们预测不断变化的环境中预测生态系统干扰的能力逐步提高。这里的海洋地板社区很脆弱，被认为是现代环境变化的高风险。我们需要了解这些社区的稳定性以及它们的形成方式，以保护它们免于增加人类影响力，例如旅游，捕鱼和气候变化。南极洲的大多数海洋生物多样性都在海底发现，那里的动物（例如灯壳，海绵和海百合花）很常见。我对这些海地动物以及动物及其环境之间的相互作用感兴趣。研究化石记录还将表明这些南方海洋社区进化的环境条件。我将寻找环境变化与生物体组成和相互作用的变化之间的联系。这将有助于告知我们哪些捕食者和猎物的互动以及环境条件首先导致这个独特的社区发展。研究过去可以深入了解诸如快速气候变化之类的干扰如何改变生物多样性。例如：过去在什么温度下，我们看到生态系统结构变为现代南部海洋地板上的发现？如果气候变化导致温度升高高于此，则可能会重组社区。该研究金还将考虑现代南部海洋地板社区。将开发一种机器学习工具，以迅速从照片和视频数据中迅速识别现代社区的组成和结构。统计方法将用于识别支撑社区结构的动物，以及改变其丰度的影响将对社区其他成员产生什么影响。借助我对这些独特的海地社区的结构，功能和演变的新理解，我将指出人类诱发的环境变化（例如变暖和入侵物种）如何影响生物多样性和重组社区。这项工作将提供有关如何管理海洋地区的信息，除了确定生物多样性和海洋社区的风险外，还可以指导诸如捕鱼和旅游等活动的可持续性。

项目成果

期刊论文数量（3）

专著数量（0）

科研奖励数量（0）

会议论文数量（0）

专利数量（0）

Animal survival strategies in Neoproterozoic ice worlds.

DOI：
10.1111/gcb.16393
发表时间：
2023-01
期刊：
Global change biology
影响因子：
11.6
作者：
通讯作者：

How predictable are mass extinction events?

DOI：
10.1098/rsos.221507
发表时间：
2023-03
期刊：
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
影响因子：
3.5
作者：
Foster, William J.;Allen, Bethany J.;Kitzmann, Niklas H.;Muenchmeyer, Jannes;Rettelbach, Tabea;Witts, James D.;Whittle, Rowan J.;Larina, Ekaterina;Clapham, Matthew E.;Dunhill, Alexander M.
通讯作者：
Dunhill, Alexander M.

Sequence stratigraphy of a wave-dominated, tidally influenced delta in the Danian of Seymour Island, Antarctica: An integrated sedimentological-palaeoecological approach

南极洲西摩岛达尼安期波浪主导、潮汐影响三角洲的层序地层学：综合沉积学-古生态学方法