Thatje Sven, Hillenbrand Claus-Dieter, Larter Rob
National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton, UK, SO14 3ZH.
Trends Ecol Evol. 2005 Oct;20(10):534-40. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2005.07.010. Epub 2005 Aug 9.
Environmental conditions fostering marine communities around Antarctica differ fundamentally from those in the rest of the world's oceans, particularly in terms of pronounced climatic fluctuations and extreme cold. Here, we argue that the rarity of pelagic larval stages in Antarctic marine benthic invertebrate species is a consequence of evolutionary temperature adaptation and that this has greatly contributed to the current structure of the Antarctic benthic community. In arguing this position, we challenge the likelihood of previously suggested survival strategies of benthic communities on the Antarctic continental shelf and slope during Cenozoic glacial periods. By integrating evidence from marine geology and geophysics, we suggest that the Antarctic continental shelf and slope were both unfavourable environments for benthic communities during glacial periods and that community survival was only possible in the deep sea or in shelters on the continental shelf as a result of the diachronism in maximum ice extent.
南极洲周围促进海洋群落形成的环境条件与世界其他海洋的环境条件截然不同，尤其是在明显的气候波动和极端寒冷方面。在此，我们认为南极海洋底栖无脊椎动物物种中浮游幼虫阶段的稀少是进化温度适应的结果，并且这极大地促成了当前南极底栖生物群落的结构。在论证这一观点时，我们对之前提出的新生代冰川期南极大陆架和斜坡上底栖生物群落生存策略的可能性提出了质疑。通过整合来自海洋地质学和地球物理学的证据，我们表明，在冰川期，南极大陆架和斜坡对底栖生物群落来说都是不利环境，并且由于最大冰盖范围的时间差异，群落生存仅在深海或大陆架上的庇护所才有可能。
