Antarctica: The final frontier for marine biological invasions.

Arlie H Mccarthy,Kevin A Hughes,Lloyd S Peck,David C Aldridge

doi:10.1111/gcb.14600

Arlie H Mccarthy, Kevin A Hughes + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14600

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Abstract

Antarctica is experiencing significant ecological and environmental change, which may facilitate the establishment of non‐native marine species. Non‐native marine species will interact with other anthropogenic stressors affecting Antarctic ecosystems, such as climate change (warming, ocean acidification) and pollution, with irreversible ramifications for biodiversity and ecosystem services. We review current knowledge of non‐native marine species in the Antarctic region, the physical and physiological factors that resist establishment of non‐native marine species, changes to resistance under climate change, the role of legislation in limiting marine introductions, and the effect of increasing human activity on vectors and pathways of introduction. Evidence of non‐native marine species is limited: just four marine non‐native and one cryptogenic species that were likely introduced anthropogenically have been reported freely living in Antarctic or sub‐Antarctic waters, but no established populations have been reported; an additional six species have been observed in pathways to Antarctica that are potentially at risk of becoming invasive. We present estimates of the intensity of ship activity across fishing, tourism and research sectors: there may be approximately 180 vessels and 500+ voyages in Antarctic waters annually. However, these estimates are necessarily speculative because relevant data are scarce. To facilitate well‐informed policy and management, we make recommendations for future research into the likelihood of marine biological invasions in the Antarctic region.

Highlights

Invasive non‐native species drive ecological changes that impact biodiversity and ecosystem services in almost all environments (Bax, Williamson, Aguero, Gonzalez, & Geeves, 2003; Chan & Briski, 2017; Lowe, Browne, Boudjelas, & De Poorter, 2004; Pimentel, Zuniga, & Morrison, 2005)
In this review we investigate the key factors pre‐ sented in Figure 1 that affect the potential for non‐native marine species (NNMS) to become in‐ vasive in the Antarctic region and in the future
To understand highly “transportable” species' uptake into pathways and transport to Antarctica, we examined peer‐reviewed literature, publicly accessible grey lit‐ erature and the Global Invasive Species Database (GISD) (Invasive Species Specialist Group ISSG, 2015) for records of NNMS around Antarctica and the sub‐Antarctic islands

Summary

| INTRODUCTION

We discuss current information and present new data on key factors affecting stages 1 and 2 of the invasion pro‐ cess (Figure 1): transportability of potential NNMS, pathways to Antarctica via different vectors, biodiversity in ports and increas‐ ing ship activity. The very low number of NNMS recorded around Antarctica and sub‐Antarctic islands, i.e. overcoming stage 3 of the invasion pathway (Figure 1), might seem surprising given the history and traffic in the Southern Ocean These low numbers could be caused, in part, by interactions between physical factors (ice cover, water temperature, seasonality, disturbance regimes) and biological factors (physiological limits, life history, Antarctic bio‐ diversity) (Figure 1).

| CONCLUSIONS

Findings

Graphical Abstract