The evolution and ecology of Antarctic sea floor communities

What this project does

This UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship studies the evolution and ecology of Antarctic seafloor communities. The project looks at how these ecosystems have changed in the past, how they function today, and how they may respond to future environmental change.

Why this matters

Biodiversity loss and extinction are pressing global issues. Around 66% of marine environments have already been significantly altered by human activity. Losing a species is not just about losing one organism. It can disrupt the way an entire ecosystem works.

The Southern Ocean seafloor is one of the least explored habitats on Earth. Many organisms here exist nowhere else. Some may also hold future value for society. Antarctica is among the fastest-warming regions of the planet. This makes it a natural laboratory for studying environmental change.

This project helps to:

• reveal how Southern Ocean ecosystems evolved over the past 100 million years
• understand how present-day seafloor communities function and respond to change
• predict future risks to biodiversity and ecosystem stability under climate change
• guide sustainable management of vulnerable ecosystems

Antarctic seafloor ecosystems are both unique and fragile. Studying their past and present gives us valuable insights into how climate change may reshape them. It also helps us learn how to protect biodiversity into the future.

Clues to the past: fossils of marine molluscs from Antarctica.

Who is involved

The project is led by Dr Rowan Whittle through a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship. It brings together expertise in palaeontology, marine biology, ecology, and climate science.

How the project works

The research combines fossil records, modern observations, and new technologies:

• Analysing Antarctic fossil sites to track how seafloor ecosystems responded to past greenhouse (ice-free) and icehouse (ice-present) climates.
• Using these past examples to predict how current and future warming will affect ecosystems.
• Applying advanced technologies to study the structure, function, and stability of modern Southern Ocean ecosystems.
• Integrating past and present data to forecast risks and guide conservation strategies.

Present day Antarctic seafloor life: dominated by filter feeding animals.

Science objectives

The project aims to:

• reconstruct Antarctic seafloor biodiversity and ecosystem change over the last 100 million years
• identify how species and communities responded to past climate shifts
• measure the resilience and vulnerability of modern seafloor ecosystems
• predict future impacts of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem stability
• provide evidence to support sustainable management of Southern Ocean ecosystems

Planned activities

The team uses fossil studies, ecological surveys, and fieldwork to investigate Antarctic seafloor ecosystems. Fossil records show how communities changed during past warm and cold periods. Modern technologies reveal how today’s ecosystems are structured and how vulnerable they are.

Together, these approaches improve our ability to predict the risks of climate change. They also guide how we protect some of the planet’s most unique and fragile marine ecosystems.

The strategic aims for this project are to answer the questions in three themes, working across traditional disciplinary boundaries:

• THE PAST: How, why, and when did the modern Southern Ocean benthic (sea floor) ecological structure evolve?
• THE PRESENT: What maintains the biodiversity and stability of Southern Ocean cold-water benthic ecosystems today?
• THE FUTURE: How might future anthropogenic change affect biodiversity and function in these ecosystems?

The following objectives will fulfill these aims:

Objective 1: Quantify the structure of Antarctic greenhouse and icehouse fossil communities.

Objective 2: Determine the preservational and palaeoenvironmental controls on these structures.

Objective 3: Compare greenhouse and icehouse communities to see if past climate change restructured Southern Ocean benthic ecology and biodiversity.

Objective 4: Identify the key structural elements of modern Southern Ocean ecosystems.

Objective 5: Determine the factors that maintain the stability of modern Southern Ocean benthic ecosystems.

Objective 6: Identify the potential adverse changes to the biodiversity and functioning of Southern Ocean benthic ecosystems due to anthropogenic disturbance.

Dr Emily Mitchell, University of Cambridge

Dr Autun Purser, Alfred Wegener Institute

1. BAS Cambridge

   Science, business and operational planning

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2. Geology and geophysical facilities

   Exploring the seafloor

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3. Geology laboratories

   Since its beginnings in 1945, BAS has been collecting and studying Antarctic rocks and fossils.

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4. RRS Sir David Attenborough

   Our state-of-the-art polar science ship provides scientists access to remote and challenging marine environments across the Antarctic and Arctic.

   Read more of: RRS Sir David Attenborough