Patterns, processes and vulnerability of Southern Ocean benthos: a decadal leap in knowledge and understanding

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Patterns, processes and vulnerability of Southern Ocean benthos: a decadal leap in knowledge and understanding Stefanie Kaiser • Simone N. Branda˜o • Saskia Brix • David K. A. Barnes • David A. Bowden • Jeroen Ingels • Florian Leese • Stefano Schiaparelli • Claudia P. Arango • Renuka Badhe • Narissa Bax • Magdalena Blazewicz-Paszkowycz • Angelika Brandt • Nils Brenke • Ana I. Catarino • Bruno David • Chantal De Ridder • Philippe Dubois • Kari E. Ellingsen • Adrian G. Glover • Huw J. Griffiths • Julian Gutt • Kenneth M. Halanych • Charlotte Havermans • Christoph Held • Dorte Janussen • Anne-Nina Lo¨rz • David A. Pearce • Benjamin Pierrat • Torben Riehl • Armin Rose • Chester J. Sands • Anna Soler-Membrives • Myriam Schu¨ller • Jan M. Strugnell • Ann Vanreusel • Gritta Veit-Ko¨hler • Nerida G. Wilson • Moriaki Yasuhara Received: 23 December 2012 / Accepted: 22 March 2013 Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Abstract In the Southern Ocean, that is areas south of the Polar Front, long-term oceanographic cooling, geographic separation, development of isolating current and wind systems, tectonic drift and fluctuation of ice sheets amongst others have resulted in a highly endemic benthic fauna, which is generally adapted to the long-lasting, relatively stable environmental conditions. The Southern Ocean

Communicated by M. G. Chapman.

Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00227-013-2232-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. S. Kaiser (&)  S. N. Branda˜o  A. Brandt  T. Riehl Biocenter Grindel and Zoological Museum, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany e-mail: [email protected] S. Kaiser  S. N. Branda˜o  S. Brix  T. Riehl DZMB, German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research, Senckenberg am Meer, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany S. Kaiser  D. A. Bowden  A.-N. Lo¨rz National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd, PO Box 14901, Kilbirnie, Wellington, New Zealand Present Address: S. Kaiser National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton Waterfront Campus European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK D. K. A. Barnes  H. J. Griffiths  D. A. Pearce  C. J. Sands British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB30ET, UK

benthic ecosystem has been subject to minimal direct anthropogenic impact (compared to elsewhere) and thus presents unique opportunities to study biodiversity and its responses to environmental change. Since the beginning of the century, research under the Census of Marine Life and International Polar Year initiatives, as well as Scientific Committee of Antarctic Research biology programmes, have considerably advanced our understanding of the Southern Ocean benthos. In this paper, we evaluate recent progress in Southern Ocean benthic research and identify priorities for future research. Intense efforts to sample and

J. Ingels  A. Vanreusel Marine Biology Department, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 S8, 9000