Life in extreme conditions: The paradox of Antarctic marine biodiversity

Authors

  • Stefano Ambroso Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC) in Barcelona (Spain).
  • Janire Salazar Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC) in Barcelona (Spain).
  • Josep-Maria Gili Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).
  • Rebeca Zapata Guardiola Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC) in Barcelona (Spain).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.9.11324

Keywords:

marine biodiversity, conservation, Antarctica, benthos, gorgonia

Abstract

The study of pristine places is very important for learning about the state of the oceans before the impact of human beings. Due to the extreme environmental conditions of the Antarctic continental shelf – its distance from other continents, depth, and the weight of the continental ice – it offers us a great opportunity to better understand how a pristine ecosystem would normally be. In addition to a high level of biodiversity, Antarctic benthic organisms present patterns of demographic and spatial distribution that are different from the communities of the continental shelves in other seas and oceans of the world. This makes Antarctic benthic communities look, more than one might think, like the communities with the highest known biodiversity in the world.

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Author Biographies

Stefano Ambroso, Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC) in Barcelona (Spain).

Graduate in Marine Biology. He has worked at the Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC) in Barcelona (Spain) since 2009, where his research activity is connected to ecology and to the patterns of spatial distribution of benthic communities. The aim of his PhD research is to understand the structure and dynamics of Antarctic macrobenthic communities in the Weddell sea.

Janire Salazar, Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC) in Barcelona (Spain).

Graduate in Biology, with a Master’s Degree in Oceanography and Marine Environmental Management (Barcelona, Spain). For her master’s degree dissertation, she searched for the spatial distribution patterns of Antarctic gorgonians in the Weddell sea. She is actively involved in both research projects and science dissemination and is a member of the team «El mar a fons» (“The sea in depth”), where she develops educational resources.  

Josep-Maria Gili, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).

Research professor at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). He currently works at the Institute of Marine Sciences in Barcelona (Spain), where he has created the Marine Benthos Ecology Group and the Gelatinous Zooplankton Biology Group. At the moment he is developing research projects in the Mediterranean, Antarctica, the Southern Pacific Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean. He received the Serra d’Or Critical Award in 1985 and the Environmental Award of the Institute for Catalan Studies in 2010). He directs the dissemination project «El mar a fons» (“The sea in depth”).

Rebeca Zapata Guardiola, Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC) in Barcelona (Spain).

Graduate in Biology, with a Master’s Degree in Sustainable Management of Coastal Marine Systems and a PhD in Conservation Biology. Her PhD, focused on the diversity and evolution of Antarctic gorgonians, allowed her to participate in several Antarctic campaigns aboard the German ship Polarstern (2007-2008 and 2013-2014). She currently coordinates the science dissemination project «El mar a fons» (“The sea in depth”) of the Institute of Marine Sciences in collaboration with “La Caixa” Foundation (Barcelona, Spain).

References

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Published

2019-03-06

How to Cite

Ambroso, S., Salazar, J., Gili, J.-M., & Zapata Guardiola, R. (2019). Life in extreme conditions: The paradox of Antarctic marine biodiversity. Metode Science Studies Journal, (9), 69–75. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.9.11324
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Issue

The grounds of science (2019)

Section

In praise of life. The dynamic concept of biodiversity

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