Christina Nau - Warming Antarctic Current Event in Oceanography

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Hillsborough Community College *

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2001C

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Geography

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Oct 30, 2023

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Christina Nau Professor Arellano OCE-2001-650 15 September 2023 Warming Antarctic Current Event in Oceanography Climate change has been affecting a lot of species in both positive and negative ways in the Antarctic. Researchers have been conducting risk assessments with results showing that some species rely heavily on sea ice for food or breeding, while others would benefit from the opening of a new habitat (Frontiers). The reason for this concern is due to the climate change in the Antarctic, which is causing temperature rise, sea-ice reduction, and changes in food availability (Frontiers). Greenhouse gas emissions are being trapped in Earth’s atmosphere which is causing climate change, or the shift of temperature and weather patterns on planet Earth. This climate change is warming not only our atmosphere but our oceans as well, which could potentially lead to ocean acidification and coral bleaching. Ice shelves are breaking apart, glaciers are receding, and sea ice is melting due to a warmer environment which is creating a life-or-death situation for some marine species (Frontiers). Fish and other food sources are migrating away from water they cannot thrive in, and this is affecting the food chain since food availability is changing. A good example of a food source is the Antarctic krill, also known as Euphausia superba, which is vulnerable to climate change since their young feed on the algae growing under the sea ice (Frontiers). With sea ice depleting, this species could end up perishing since their young would no longer be able to feed off the algae that had once accumulated under the ice. Other species would also be negatively affected by a warming Antarctica, such as the humpback whale, emperor penguin, and the Adèlie penguin (Frontiers). Humpback whales rely on krill heavily as a

food source, and with krill dying off without a food source, the same thing would happen to the whales. A domino effect would occur within the food chain of marine species since producers, consumers, and decomposers would be severely affected or die off. The emperor penguin would also be negatively affected since the ice they live on and around is their breeding and feeding grounds (Frontiers). With no more ice, these penguins' reproduction would be affected as well as their way of accumulating food, since they also feed on krill. Lastly, the Adèlie penguin would be affected negatively by a warming Antarctica since they rely on krill as a food source and because their chick-hatching times could potentially be affected since they could hatch with little to no food around. However, a warming Antarctic is not always a negative thing since some species, such as starfish, jellyfish, and the southern right whale would benefit (Frontiers). These species thrive in open water, and with the melting of ice, their habitat would grow larger, with fewer glaciers and ice deposits floating around. Starfish would benefit not only from open water in a warmer Antarctic, but their growth rate would also accelerate. Jellyfish would benefit since they would have more room to thrive, as well as mature sexually more quickly, leading to an increase in their population. Lastly, the southern right whale would benefit positively since they feed on a plankton group, called the copepods, which thrive in the open water (Frontiers). Overall, the warming of the Antarctic would affect all marine mammals, fortunately, some in a positive way, but others in a more negative way.

Works Cited Frontiers. “Penguins, starfish, whales: Which animals will win and lose in a warming Antarctic?” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 January 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190117090504.htm . Accessed 15 September 2023.

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