Antarctic Marine Species Settling under Where Larsen Ice Shelf Once Stood
25.02.2010 - Water & Oceans, Ice & Snow, Flora & Fauna, Antarctic
The Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) for Polar and Marine Research presented their findings of what has happened to an ecosystem previously shielded by the Larsen A/B Ice Shelf on the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula before it collapsed in 2002 as part of the United Nations General Assembly declaration of 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity.
AWI presented two findings:
- Molgula pedunculata, a semi-transparent animal that belongs to the group of sea squirts, was able to settle quickly and en masse after the ice shelf disappeared. It lives on the Antarctic seabed at depths between 30 to 300 meters and feeds on micro-algae from the upper layers of the ocean. The animal reaches maturity after three to five years, a growth rate much faster than that of most benthic species of the Antarctic Ocean.
- Unlike the molgula pedunculata, starfish and other species have not responded yet to the change in habitat. AWI noted however that animals from the open ocean such as krill, fish, seals and whales have already discovered this new habitat.
