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Warming could bring sharks to Antarctica with devastating ecological consequences mongabay.com February 15, 2008
Analyzing the physiological adaptations and metabolism of sharks and other predators, Cheryl Wilga and Brad Seibel found that an increase of just a few degrees Celsius could make Antarctic waters habitable for Benthic sharks, species that live on the seafloor and swim very little. Ocean-going sharks, which have a high metabolism rate because they must swim constantly to aerate their gills, would not survive in the cold waters around Antarctica. Still Wilga and Seibel say that because "they cannot swim great distances and do not produce a larval stage capable of wide dispersal, it is unlikely [Benthic sharks] could easily get to Antarctica on their own." Nevertheless, should sharks reach the Antarctic, they would likely have a significant ecological impact say the researchers.
Wilga and Seibel that shrimp, ribbon worms and brittle stars will likely be the most vulnerable to population declines should sharks make it to the Antarctic. "Ice fishes — the only bony fish that now lives in Antarctic waters, because it has antifreeze in its system — will face a new threat as well," Wilga added. "They are already preyed upon by seals and penguins. Adding sharks and other bony fishes to the mix will likely have a big affect on them." Warming seas could also help crabs. Currently "cold Antarctic water reduces their ability to flush magnesium from their blood, leading to magnesium narcosis and death", according to a statement from the University of Rhode Island, but higher temperatures are enabling crabs to closer to the Antarctic. The waters around the Antarctic Peninsula have warmed by 1 to 2 C in the last 50 years, a rate that is about double or triple the global average. Wilga and Seibel's study, "None Like It Cold: Physiological Constraints on Predators in Antarctica," was presented today in Boston at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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