Future challenges in Southern Ocean life and ecology research.

XAVIER, JOSÉ; BRANDT, ANGELIKA; ROPERT-COUDER, YAN; BADHE, RENUKA,; GUTT, JULIAN; HAVERMANNS, CHARLOTE; JONES, CHRISTOPHER; COSTA, ERLI S.; LOCHTE, KARIN; SCHLOSS, IRENE R.; KEHNICUTT, MAHLON C.; SUTHERLAND, WILLIAM J.

FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE

FRONTIERS

Año: 2016

The Southern Ocean is experiencing relentless change. The Antarctic and SouthernOcean community, represented by 75 scientists and policy-makers from 22 countries,recently met to formulate a collective vision on the priorities for Antarctic research forthe next two decades and beyond. Here, we assess high-interest research areas relatedspecifically to Southern Ocean life and ecology that, although not all retained as the80 top priorities among the addressed scientific domains, are of considerable relevanceto the biology and ecology of the Southern Ocean. As certain regions of the SouthernOcean ecosystems have witnessed abiotic and biotic changes in the last decades (e.g.,warming, climate variability, changes in sea ice, and abundance of marine organisms),such an exercise was urgently needed. We concluded that basic biological informationon the taxonomy of numerous organisms is still lacking in areas, such as the deep-oceanfloor or the under-ice environments. Furthermore, there is a need for knowledge aboutthe response and resilience of Antarctic marine ecosystems to change. The continuationof a long-term commitment and the development and use of innovative technology toadequately monitor the Southern Ocean ecosystems is required. Highlighting the mostimportant Southern Ocean research topics allow the identification of the challengesand future requirements in technological development, and both research and fundingstrategies for the various stakeholders.