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the conduit to scientists and specialists that empowers people to protect whales, dolphins and porpoises, their cultures and their homes.
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| archived words from the wise: Dr Liza Gross |
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Liza Gross is a science writer for the Public Library of Science. |
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| Posted: 2007 December 17 |
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Contact lgross@plos.org |
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| wise words |
As the Antarctic Ice Pack Recedes, a Fragile Ecosystem Hangs in the Balance
Harrowing tales of starvation and endurance epitomize Antarctica’s “heroic age,” when men equipped with little more than fortitude struggled against a landscape seemingly designed to thwart their intentions. A menacing sea ice figures prominently in these improbable survival stories. Daunting to early-20th-century explorers—trapping (and ultimately crushing) Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance and derailing Robert Scott’s 1901 Discovery expedition—the seasonal pack ice is the lifeblood of Antarctica’s marine ecosystem.
But as winter temperatures continue to climb in the Antarctic, the once-forbidding winter sea ice is starting to deteriorate. The ice pack is forming later and retreating earlier—and it’s having a serious impact on the abundance of krill, the backbone of the Antarctic food chain.
“Sea ice is the engine that drives Antarctic ecosystems,” says William Fraser, a principal investigator for the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research program (LTER) and president of Polar Oceans Research Group in Montana. “Many of the key species that govern ecosystem dynamics in the Antarctic have life histories that depend on the availability of winter sea ice. The most important species in most sectors of Antarctica is krill.”
A note from whales-online.org - This article is published by PlosBiology under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
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As the Antarctic Ice Pack Recedes, a Fragile Ecosystem Hangs in the Balance |
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