The hidden conservation tools within Antarctic marine life.

. ALDER, V.A.; FRANZOSI, C.A.; GÓMEZ, M.I.; SANTOFERRARA, L.F

Oregon

Congreso; XXXII SCAR and Open Science Conference & COMNAP XXIV AGM; 2012

SCAR

Conservation Biology is a cross-disciplinary mission focused on how to protect life and its environment and how to restore them in the face of both global biodiversity threats (harvesting, habitat loss or degradation, introduced species) and the uncertainties associated to global driving forces such as Climate Change and Economy. In consequence, Conservation Biology also means proactive or reactive cross-disciplinary measures to be taken with swiftness and effectiveness. Although overfishing and the transport of non native species are known to have a strong impact on the World Ocean, these problems remain unsolved. In this context, the Antarctic Marine System probably represents the only multi-decade, regional-scale conservational approach worldwide. In this study we will present a snapshot of the Antarctic Marine System based on a review of the main biodiversity threats, and aimed at updating the research agenda. An emergent issue of this review is the need of emphasizing on those organisms which constitute the food of krill and ichthyoplankton, and/or are usually transported by ships via ballast water. Such organisms, mostly unicellular, are immediate indicators of chemical, oceanographic, climatic, and biological processes and ecosystem changes, either natural or anthropogenic, occurring in the water column of the open ocean and beneath ice shelves. Among other aspects involving Antarctic and adjacent waters, we will provide consistent examples of: 1) the sudden, extreme growth of some communities as a response to unexpected processes, and the potential alteration of the global trophic web structure; 2) how some of the strongest hotspots of productivity (and diversity) relate either with typical community structures or the dominance of potentially toxic species, a topic often underestimated in conservation efforts; 3) the limitations of chlorophyll concentration as a bioindicator of fishery yields, phytoplanktonic biomass and primary productivity. In order to identify trends and patterns in human-induced biodiversity fluctuations, to build predictive models that consider future scenarios of Global Change, and to keep a sustainable management of natural resources, it will be necessary to develop conservation measures centered in filling this gap by addressing small spatial scales with a long-term vision.