Prosperity and limitation of sponge fauna on the former ice-shelf Larsen A-B and adjacent areas west of the Antarctic Peninsula

自20世纪50年代以来，在南极半岛观察到的区域变暖导致了拉森AB冰架在1995年和2002年的崩溃。多学科科学小组在几次南极考察（2007年、2011年和2013年）中研究了这些事件的生态影响，以跟踪和监测正在发生的海洋学和生态动态变化。海绵在底栖-中上层耦合中发挥关键作用，并作为其他生物的宿主。本研究旨在分析气候变化对南极大陆架多孔动物多样性的影响及其对永久冰架解体的反应。将对树木考察重复站的海绵动物群以及拉森ACB地区和参考站的海绵动物群进行详细的动物群比较。将通过比较形态学和分子学方法以及对海绵动物群的平行调查，检验先驱和深海海绵分类群在拉森大陆架的假定物种形成过程和定殖。生态演替检测系统和定量评估的横断面，我们进一步的目标是重建的海绵生物量和二氧化硅含量在南极“海绵花园”。由于南极冰架的不断解体，该项目将为未来的生态发展带来重要的启示。

Regional warming observed at the Antarctic Peninsula since the 1950ies caused a collapse of the Larsen AB ice-shelves in 1995, respectively 2002. The ecological impact of these events is studied by multidisciplinary scientific teams on several Antarctic expeditions (2007, 2011 and 2013) to track and monitor the ongoing oceanographic and ecological dynamic changes. Sponges play a key role in the bentho-pelagic coupling and as hosts for other organisms. The here proposed research project is designed to analyze the impact of climate change on the diversity of Porifera within the Antarctic shelf communities and their response to the disintegration of permanent ice-shelves. Detailed faunistic comparisons will be done between the sponge faunas from the repeated stations of the tree expeditions and between the Larsen ACB area and reference stations. Assumed speciation processes and colonization of the Larsen shelves by pioneer and deep-sea sponge taxa will be tested by comparative morphological and molecular methods as well as parallel investigations of the sponge infauna. Ecological successions are detected by systematic and quantitative evaluation of ROV transsects, and we further target the reconstruction of sponge biomasses and silica content in the Antarctic “sponge gardens”. This project will bring important hints to future ecological developments due to ongoing disintegration of the Antarctic ice-shelves.