TY - JOUR

T1 - Antarctic Thresholds – Ecosystem Resilience and Adaptation: a new SCAR-Biology Programme

AU - Gutt, Julian

AU - Adams, Byron

AU - Bracegirdle, Thomas

AU - Cowan, Don

AU - Cummings, Vonda

AU - Di Prisco, Guido

AU - Gradinger, Rolf

AU - Isla, Enrique

AU - McIntyre, Trevor

AU - Murphy, Eugene

AU - Peck, Lloyd

AU - Scloss, Irene

AU - Smith, Craig

AU - Suckling, Coleen

AU - Akinori, Takahashi

AU - Verde, Cinzia

AU - Wall, Diana H.

AU - Xavier, Jose

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - Stresses on Antarctic ecosystems result from environmental change, including extreme events, and from (other) human impacts. Consequently, Antarctic habitats are changing, some at a rapid pace while others are relatively stable. A cascade of responses from molecular through organismic to the community level are expected. The differences in biological complexity and evolutionary histories between both polar regions and the rest of the planet suggest that stresses on polar ecosystem function may have fundamentally different outcomes from those at lower latitudes. Polar ecosystem processes are therefore key to informing wider ecological debate about the nature of stability and potential changes across the biosphere. The main goal of AnT-ERA is to facilitate the science required to examine changes in biological processes in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic marine-, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. Tolerance limits, as well as thresholds, resistance and resilience to environmental change will be determined. AnT-ERA is classified into three overlapping themes, which represent three levels of biological organisation: (1) molecular and physiological performance, (2) population processes and species traits, (3) ecosystem function and services.

AB - Stresses on Antarctic ecosystems result from environmental change, including extreme events, and from (other) human impacts. Consequently, Antarctic habitats are changing, some at a rapid pace while others are relatively stable. A cascade of responses from molecular through organismic to the community level are expected. The differences in biological complexity and evolutionary histories between both polar regions and the rest of the planet suggest that stresses on polar ecosystem function may have fundamentally different outcomes from those at lower latitudes. Polar ecosystem processes are therefore key to informing wider ecological debate about the nature of stability and potential changes across the biosphere. The main goal of AnT-ERA is to facilitate the science required to examine changes in biological processes in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic marine-, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. Tolerance limits, as well as thresholds, resistance and resilience to environmental change will be determined. AnT-ERA is classified into three overlapping themes, which represent three levels of biological organisation: (1) molecular and physiological performance, (2) population processes and species traits, (3) ecosystem function and services.

M3 - Article

VL - 82

SP - 147

EP - 150

JO - Polarforschung

JF - Polarforschung

SN - 0032-2490

IS - 2

ER -