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at the moment, Surprisingly, the waters in and around Antarctica are free of invasive species. However, this may change in the near future due to the staggering level of connectivity to ports around the world, according to new research. Ships can accidentally carry large numbers of sea creatures that in turn colonize new places (such as the world’s polar south), outcompete natives, and often wreak havoc on ecosystems. new research The paths of various research, tourist and fishing vessels were tracked in the icy waters of Antarctica.
According to Allie McCarthy, a researcher at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Zoology and the British Antarctic Survey, the ships all carry a risk of unwanted visitors. And tourists may have more opportunities to relocate than we ever imagined.
“We know from other cold regions of the world, including the Arctic, that what grows on a ship’s hull is absolutely transported from one place to another, and it’s one of the main sources of ocean introductions around the world,” McCarthy told Als. “We also knew that there were indeed things growing on ships coming into Antarctica. We didn’t know the details of where those ships were going until this point.”
McCarthy’s research shows that 1,581 ports around the world are connected to the South Pole.These are the ports from which at least one ship sailed to the area, which is defined as south of -60 degrees latitude, by Antarctic Treaty. To determine this, she and her team looked at Lowe’s List Intelligence, an ancient and reliable source of maritime data, port call data and raw satellite data. It allowed her to track vessel activity between 2014 and 2018.
“They’re connected to Antarctica in some way,” McCarthy said of the port. This means that countless species such as crabs, barnacles and algae from a large number of places could end up in the area. As global shipping increases — and researchers and tourists continue to access these waters — invasive species The share is also growing. There are also concerns about the movement of some species from the North Pole to the South Pole, possibly on tourism or research ships. Species from the Arctic may be adapted to the cold and thrive in the cold Antarctic better than species introduced from somewhere south of the equator.
Antarctic waters are mostly free of invasive marine species – there are some Grass and insect— and oceans are more isolated than many others. This is largely due to the neighboring Southern Ocean, which has the currents that circle Antarctica. They are particularly strong and form a sort of barrier. “Anything that enters the current from the ocean further north, they can stray away from Antarctica and not really cross into the Southern Ocean. They block most things that come in through the current,” McCarthy said, adding that seals and whales are able to traverse these Water flow, even mussels, barnacles and algae are often blocked.
Because the area is so cold, many of the creatures that call home live more or less on the edge of what is physiologically possible. There is less food here than elsewhere, and many creatures have adapted very specific behaviors to survive, so invasive species can do more damage than they would in places with more food and warmth. For example, some Antarctic life forms have developed polar gigantism, which means they grow larger, live slower and die. Smaller, faster and faster-reproducing species from elsewhere — assuming they can survive in Antarctica — may outnumber the original inhabitants.
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