Megabenthic communities in Potter Cove (Antarctic Peninsula): video analyses of community changes and influence of a Glacier retreatment

COVADONGA OREJAS; SAHADE, RICARDO; LAGGER, CRISTIAN; TATIÁN, MARCOS; FUENTES, VERÓNICA

Barcelona

Simposio; SCAR Biology Symposium: Life in Antarctica: Boundaries and Gradients in a Changing Environment; 2013

Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research

In frame of the ECLIPSE project, the composition and spatial distribution of the Megaepibenthic communities inhabiting the seafloor of Potter cove (King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula) are currently being studied using non-invasive methods. One of the main aims of this project is to study the community composition, as well as the distribution patterns and abundances of the megabenthos in order to analyse changes related to the retreatment of the Fourcade Glacier. This Glacier located in Potter Cove has experienced a dramatic decrease in its mass and extension since the fifties. This study is being conducted analyzing video material over a large spatialscale (100 Km2) and the influence of environmental factors as substrate type, depth and glacier front influence is also being included in the analyses. In this contribution we present some preliminary results of this work and the first conclusions obtained. This work is being supported by the ECLIPSE and IMCOAST projects. The ECLIPSE project is a transnational collaborative project, four research Institutions from three countries are involved: Instituto de Ciencias del Mar (CSIC) and Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO) (Spain), and the Universidad de Córdoba (Argentina) and the Alfred Wegener Institute (Germany). ECLIPSE is a three years project supported by the TOTAL foundation.