Study Reveals Impacts of Environmental Changes on Southern Ocean Food Web
February 2, 2012 in Oceans
One of the most comprehensive studies of animals in the Southern Ocean reveals a region that is under threat from the effects of environmental change.
Reporting in January 2012 in a special volume of the journal Deep Sea Research II, an international team of researchers led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), describes how the Scotia Sea food web interacts in an ocean that is witnessing above average changes in upper water temperatures.
The study, comprising of over 20 papers, provides an important overview of the Southern Ocean food web — how it is structured and organised from primary producers like phytoplankton and krill up to higher predators like penguins and seals — and provides an important benchmark to monitor how these species will respond to future environmental change.
