1
|
Strugnell JM, McGregor HV, Wilson NG, Meredith KT, Chown SL, Lau SCY, Robinson SA, Saunders KM. Emerging biological archives can reveal ecological and climatic change in Antarctica. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:6483-6508. [PMID: 35900301 PMCID: PMC9826052 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic climate change is causing observable changes in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean including increased air and ocean temperatures, glacial melt leading to sea-level rise and a reduction in salinity, and changes to freshwater water availability on land. These changes impact local Antarctic ecosystems and the Earth's climate system. The Antarctic has experienced significant past environmental change, including cycles of glaciation over the Quaternary Period (the past ~2.6 million years). Understanding Antarctica's paleoecosystems, and the corresponding paleoenvironments and climates that have shaped them, provides insight into present day ecosystem change, and importantly, helps constrain model projections of future change. Biological archives such as extant moss beds and peat profiles, biological proxies in lake and marine sediments, vertebrate animal colonies, and extant terrestrial and benthic marine invertebrates, complement other Antarctic paleoclimate archives by recording the nature and rate of past ecological change, the paleoenvironmental drivers of that change, and constrain current ecosystem and climate models. These archives provide invaluable information about terrestrial ice-free areas, a key location for Antarctic biodiversity, and the continental margin which is important for understanding ice sheet dynamics. Recent significant advances in analytical techniques (e.g., genomics, biogeochemical analyses) have led to new applications and greater power in elucidating the environmental records contained within biological archives. Paleoecological and paleoclimate discoveries derived from biological archives, and integration with existing data from other paleoclimate data sources, will significantly expand our understanding of past, present, and future ecological change, alongside climate change, in a unique, globally significant region.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jan M. Strugnell
- Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture and College of Science and EngineeringJames Cook UniversityTownsvilleQueenslandAustralia
- Securing Antarctica's Environmental FutureJames Cook UniversityTownsvilleQueenslandAustralia
| | - Helen V. McGregor
- Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life SciencesUniversity of WollongongWollongongNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Nerida G. Wilson
- Securing Antarctica's Environmental FutureWestern Australian MuseumWestern AustraliaAustralia
- Research and CollectionsWestern Australian MuseumWestern AustraliaAustralia
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of Western AustraliaCrawleyWestern AustraliaAustralia
| | - Karina T. Meredith
- Securing Antarctica's Environmental FutureAustralian Nuclear Science and Technology OrganisationLucas HeightsNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Steven L. Chown
- Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future, School of Biological SciencesMonash UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Sally C. Y. Lau
- Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture and College of Science and EngineeringJames Cook UniversityTownsvilleQueenslandAustralia
- Securing Antarctica's Environmental FutureJames Cook UniversityTownsvilleQueenslandAustralia
| | - Sharon A. Robinson
- Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life SciencesUniversity of WollongongWollongongNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Krystyna M. Saunders
- Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life SciencesUniversity of WollongongWollongongNew South WalesAustralia
- Securing Antarctica's Environmental FutureAustralian Nuclear Science and Technology OrganisationLucas HeightsNew South WalesAustralia
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic StudiesUniversity of TasmaniaHobartTasmaniaAustralia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Duda MP, Cyr F, Robertson GJ, Michelutti N, Meyer-Jacob C, Hedd A, Montevecchi WA, Kimpe LE, Blais JM, Smol JP. Climate oscillations drive millennial-scale changes in seabird colony size. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:4292-4307. [PMID: 35320599 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 03/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Seabird population size is intimately linked to the physical, chemical, and biological processes of the oceans. Yet, the overall effects of long-term changes in ocean dynamics on seabird colonies are difficult to quantify. Here, we used dated lake sediments to reconstruct ~10,000-years of seabird dynamics in the Northwest Atlantic to determine the influences of Holocene-scale climatic oscillations on colony size. On Baccalieu Island (Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada)-where the world's largest colony of Leach's storm-petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous Vieillot 1818) currently breeds-our data track seabird colony growth in response to warming during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (ca. 9000 to 6000 BP). From ca. 5200 BP to the onset of the Little Ice Age (ca. 550 BP), changes in colony size were correlated to variations in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). By contrasting the seabird trends from Baccalieu Island to millennial-scale changes of storm-petrel populations from Grand Colombier Island (an island in the Northwest Atlantic that is subjected a to different ocean climate), we infer that changes in NAO influenced the ocean circulation, which translated into, among many things, changes in pycnocline depth across the Northwest Atlantic basin where the storm-petrels feed. We hypothesize that the depth of the pycnocline is likely a strong bottom-up control on surface-feeding storm-petrels through its influence on prey accessibility. Since the Little Ice Age (LIA), the effects of ocean dynamics on seabird colony size have been altered by anthropogenic impacts. Subsequently, the colony on Baccalieu Island grew at an unprecedented rate to become the world's largest resulting from favorable conditions linked to climate warming, increased vegetation (thereby nesting habitat), and attraction of recruits from other colonies that are now in decline. We show that although ocean dynamics were an important driver of seabird colony dynamics, its recent influence has been modified by human interference.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew P Duda
- Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab (PEARL), Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Frédéric Cyr
- Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
| | - Gregory J Robertson
- Wildlife Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
| | - Neal Michelutti
- Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab (PEARL), Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Carsten Meyer-Jacob
- Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab (PEARL), Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - April Hedd
- Wildlife Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
| | - William A Montevecchi
- Departments of Psychology and Biology, Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
| | - Linda E Kimpe
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jules M Blais
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - John P Smol
- Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab (PEARL), Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Duda MP, Hargan KE, Michelutti N, Blais JM, Grooms C, Gilchrist HG, Mallory ML, Robertson GJ, Smol JP. Reconstructing Long-Term Changes in Avian Populations Using Lake Sediments: Opening a Window Onto the Past. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.698175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The lack of long-term monitoring data for many wildlife populations is a limiting factor in establishing meaningful and achievable conservation goals. Even for well-monitored species, time series are often very short relative to the timescales required to understand a population’s baseline conditions before the contemporary period of increased human impacts. To fill in this critical information gap, techniques have been developed to use sedimentary archives to provide insights into long-term population dynamics over timescales of decades to millennia. Lake and pond sediments receiving animal inputs (e.g., feces, feathers) typically preserve a record of ecological and environmental information that reflects past changes in population size and dynamics. With a focus on bird-related studies, we review the development and use of several paleolimnological proxies to reconstruct past colony sizes, including trace metals, isotopes, lipid biomolecules, diatoms, pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs, invertebrate sub-fossils, pigments, and others. We summarize how animal-influenced sediments, cored from around the world, have been successfully used in addressing some of the most challenging questions in conservation biology, namely: How dynamic are populations on long-term timescales? How may populations respond to climate change? How have populations responded to human intrusion? Finally, we conclude with an assessment of the current state of the field, challenges to overcome, and future potential for research.
Collapse
|
4
|
Xu Q, Chu Z, Gao Y, Mei Y, Yang Z, Huang Y, Yang L, Xie Z, Sun L. Levels, sources and influence mechanisms of heavy metal contamination in topsoils in Mirror Peninsula, East Antarctica. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2020; 257:113552. [PMID: 31771929 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2019] [Revised: 10/19/2019] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Heavy metal contaminants in Mirror Peninsula, East Antarctica, have rarely been studied and the source and influencing factors are poorly understood. We sampled a grid of 189 topsoil samples from Mirror Peninsula and analyzed the concentrations of Zn, Cu, U, Cr, Ga, Pb, Hg, Se and As; we also calculated the chemical index of alteration (CIA), a proxy of weathering. The results show that the distributions of Cr, Ga, Cu, and Zn are associated with weathering; the distributions of As and Pb are related to vehicle use and unloading activities at the wharfs, respectively; and the distribution of Hg is likely associated with both anthropogenic impacts and biological activity. The contamination level of these heavy metals in Mirror Peninsula is relatively low and within the controllable range. Both weathering processes and anthropogenic impacts can cause the enrichment of heavy metals; thus reliable source apportionment is crucial in studying heavy metal enrichment and contamination.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qibin Xu
- Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China
| | - Zhuding Chu
- Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China
| | - Yuesong Gao
- Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China
| | - Yanjun Mei
- Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China; State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal Universtiy, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Zhongkang Yang
- Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China
| | - Yikang Huang
- Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China
| | - Lianjiao Yang
- Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China
| | - Zhouqing Xie
- Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China.
| | - Liguang Sun
- Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Multicentury perspective assessing the sustainability of the historical harvest of seaducks. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:8425-8430. [PMID: 30936301 PMCID: PMC6486763 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1814057116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Where available, census data on seabirds often do not extend beyond a few years or decades, challenging our ability to identify drivers of population change and to develop conservation policies. Here, we reconstruct long-term population dynamics of northern common eiders (Somateria mollissima borealis). We analyzed sterols together with stable nitrogen isotopes in dated pond sediment cores to show that eiders underwent broadscale population declines over the 20th century at Canadian subarctic breeding sites. Likely, a rapidly growing Greenland population, combined with relocation of Inuit to larger Arctic communities and associated increases in the availability of firearms and motors during the early to mid-20th century, generated more efficient hunting practices, which in turn reduced the number of adult eiders breeding at Canadian nesting islands. Our paleolimnological approach highlights that current and local monitoring windows for many sensitive seabird species may be inadequate for making key conservation decisions.
Collapse
|
6
|
Hargan KE, Stewart EM, Michelutti N, Grooms C, Kimpe LE, Mallory ML, Smol JP, Blais JM. Sterols and stanols as novel tracers of waterbird population dynamics in freshwater ponds. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 285:rspb.2018.0631. [PMID: 29695442 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2018] [Accepted: 04/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
With the expansion of urban centres in the mid-twentieth century and the post-1970 decrease in pesticides, populations of double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) and ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis) around Lake Ontario (Canada and USA) have rapidly rebounded, possibly to unprecedented numbers. Along with the use of traditional palaeolimnological methods (e.g. stable isotopes, biological proxies), we now have the capacity to develop specific markers for directly tracking the presence of waterbirds on nesting islands. Here, we apply the use of lipophilic sterols and stanols from both plant and animal-faecal origins as a reliable technique, independent of traditional isotopic methods, for pinpointing waterbird arrival and population growth over decadal timescales. Sterol and stanol concentrations measured in the guano samples of waterbird species were highly variable within a species and between the three species of waterbirds examined. However, cholesterol was the dominant sterol in guano, and phytosterols were also high in ring-billed gull guano. This variability highlights a specialist piscivorous diet for cormorants compared to a generalist, omnivorous diet for gulls, which may now often include grain and invertebrates from agricultural fields. A ratio that includes cholesterol and sitosterol plus their aerobically reduced products (cholestanol, stigmastanol) best explained the present range of bird abundance across the islands and was significantly correlated to sedimentary δ15N. Overall, we demonstrate the use of sterols and stanols as a direct means for tracking the spatial and temporal presence of waterbirds on islands across Lake Ontario, and probably elsewhere.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn E Hargan
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5
| | - Emily M Stewart
- Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab (PEARL), Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Neal Michelutti
- Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab (PEARL), Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Christopher Grooms
- Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab (PEARL), Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Linda E Kimpe
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5
| | - Mark L Mallory
- Department of Biology, Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada B4P 2R6
| | - John P Smol
- Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab (PEARL), Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Jules M Blais
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Chu Z, Yang Z, Wang Y, Sun L, Yang W, Yang L, Gao Y. Assessment of heavy metal contamination from penguins and anthropogenic activities on Fildes Peninsula and Ardley Island, Antarctic. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 646:951-957. [PMID: 30067965 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2018] [Revised: 07/09/2018] [Accepted: 07/12/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Fildes Peninsula, with a high density of scientific stations, has been significantly impacted by anthropogenic activities. However, the contamination from penguins, a biovector that transports pollutants from ocean to land, has seldom been assessed. In this study, 32 lacustrine surface sediment samples on Fildes Peninsula and 8 lacustrine surface sediment samples on Ardley Island were collected to determine Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cr, Cd, Co, Sb, Hg and P levels. The results showed that the heavy metal contents of lacustrine sediments on Ardley Island are significantly higher than those on Fildes Peninsula. The contaminants on Fildes Peninsula are mainly derived from anthropogenic activities, while the contaminants on Ardley Island are transported to the lacustrine sediments in the form of penguin guanos after a series of biomagnification in the food chain. The results indicated that the impact of penguin-transported contamination on Antarctic environment outweighs human activities near scientific stations in some areas. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the impacts of Antarctic animals on the Antarctic environment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhuding Chu
- Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China
| | - Zhongkang Yang
- Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China
| | - Yuhong Wang
- Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China
| | - Liguang Sun
- Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China.
| | - Wenqing Yang
- Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China
| | - Lianjiao Yang
- Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China
| | - Yuesong Gao
- Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China
| |
Collapse
|