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Meiobenthic biodiversity of the formerly iceshelf-covered Larsen A and B areas west of the Antarctic Peninsula

Description: Das Projekt "Meiobenthic biodiversity of the formerly iceshelf-covered Larsen A and B areas west of the Antarctic Peninsula" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg (FIS), Senckenberg am Meer, Deutsches Zentrum für Marine Biodiversitätsforschung durchgeführt. The project, proposed in the framework of the International Polar Year (IPY), benefits from a unique natural experiment: the recent break-up of the Antarctic Larsen B iceshelf caused by regional climate warming. As an initial benchmark study the project will be fundamental for future research on changes of the meiobenthos (seafloor organisms with size between 0.032 mm and 1 mm) in this region. With the data obtained by multicorer sampling meiobenthic assemblages from inside the former iceshelf will be compared to those outside the iceshelf-covered area. It will also be investigated if meiobenthic shelf assemblages of the low-productive Larsen B area resemble those of the Antarctic deep sea, for which some evidence exists regarding aspects of the macrobenthos. Furthermore, the meiobenthos of a cold seep (a spot where methane and sulphide seeps from the sea ground) recently discovered in the Larsen B area, the only one known from the Antarctic shelf, will be studied. This for the first time offers a chance to compare meiobenthos of an Antarctic cold seep and a similar arctic habitat. Finally and proving critical for estimates on biodiversity in the region, the number and proportion of harpacticoid copepod species new to science will be evaluated. The results of this project will show the effects of climate change on marine communities in a drastically affected area of our planet. Results will not only enhance our knowledge on the colonisation speed of meiobenthos in Antarctic waters, but also bring up new insight to the productivity-diversity-hypothesis.

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SupportProgram

Origin: /Bund/UBA/UFORDAT

Tags: Ruderfußkrebs ? Sulfid ? Kontinentalschelf ? Umweltauswirkung ? Meiobenthos ? Antarktische Halbinsel ? Benthos ? Dränwasser ? Habitat ? Meeresboden ? Methan ? Tiefsee ? Globale Erwärmung ? Antarktis ? Arktis ? Artenvielfalt ? Daten ? Zukunftsforschung ? Mesoklima ? Studie ? Gewässerorganismen ? Wasseranalyse ? Meeresgewässer ? Klimafolgen ? Benchmarking ? Datenerhebung ? Forschungseinrichtung ? Klimawandel ? Organismen ? Gewässer ? Biodiversität ? Art [Spezies] ?

Region: Lower Saxony

Bounding box: 9.16667° .. 9.16667° x 52.83333° .. 52.83333°

License: cc-by-nc-nd/4.0

Language: Deutsch

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Time ranges: 2008-01-01 - 2010-09-30

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