di Prisco Guido, Convey Peter, Gutt Julian, Cowan Don, Conlan Kathleen, Verde Cinzia
Institute of Protein Biochemistry, National Research Council, Via Pietro Castellino 111, 80131 Naples, Italy.
Mar Genomics. 2012 Dec;8:3-8. doi: 10.1016/j.margen.2012.04.001. Epub 2012 Apr 27.
Current global changes are prompting scientists and governments to consider the risk of extinction of species inhabiting environments influenced by ice. Concerted, multidisciplinary, international programmes aimed at understanding life processes, evolution and adaptations in the Polar Regions will help to counteract such an event by protecting polar life and ecosystems. There is a long tradition of international scientific cooperation in Antarctica that provides a strong foundation for such approaches. While basic understanding is emerging, we still largely lack predictive biological models, and need to achieve further integration amongst biological and non-biological disciplines. The ongoing SCAR Science Research Programme, "Evolution and Biodiversity in the Antarctic (EBA)" has successfully carried out its crucial role of providing an overarching umbrella for SCAR research in Life Sciences. Now is the time for aiming to progress beyond this important role, and the Antarctic biology community is proposing two programmes, focussed on distinct but complementary aspects of polar biology and working across marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments: "State of the Antarctic Ecosystem (AntEco)", and "Antarctic Thresholds--Ecosystem Resilience and Adaptation (AnT-ERA)". These programmes are the legacy of EBA, and they are key to understanding and protect Antarctic biodiversity.
当前全球变化促使科学家和各国政府考虑栖息在受冰川影响环境中的物种灭绝风险。旨在了解极地地区生命过程、进化和适应性的协调一致的多学科国际项目，将通过保护极地生命和生态系统来帮助应对此类事件。南极洲有着悠久的国际科学合作传统，为这些方法提供了坚实基础。虽然基本认识正在形成，但我们在很大程度上仍缺乏预测性生物学模型，并且需要在生物学科和非生物学科之间实现进一步整合。正在进行的南极研究科学委员会（SCAR）科学研究项目“南极的进化与生物多样性（EBA）”成功发挥了其关键作用，为SCAR在生命科学领域的研究提供了一个总体框架。现在是时候超越这一重要作用取得进展了，南极生物学界正在提议开展两个项目，分别聚焦极地生物学不同但互补的方面，并涵盖海洋、淡水和陆地环境：“南极生态系统状况（AntEco）”和“南极阈值——生态系统恢复力与适应性（AnT - ERA）”。这些项目是EBA的遗产，也是理解和保护南极生物多样性的关键。
