NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Warming Antarctica becoming more hospitable to animals which could lead to some epic battles

Washington Post
28 Jun, 2017 10:59 PM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

As more ice-free space opens up across the continent, previously isolated species may begin to spread out and come in contact with each other. Photo / 123RF

As more ice-free space opens up across the continent, previously isolated species may begin to spread out and come in contact with each other. Photo / 123RF

By Chelsea Harvey

As climate change continues to cause massive melting and ice loss in Antarctica, new habitats may begin to open up for wildlife across the thawing continent, scientists reported Wednesday. But while that may sound like a boon for plants, microbes, birds and other organisms, they caution that this is not necessarily a good thing for the fragile Antarctic ecosystem.

As more ice-free space opens up across the continent, previously isolated species may begin to spread out and come in contact with each other. And as they're increasingly forced to compete for resources, some organisms may emerge dominant - and others may start to disappear, write a team of researchers in a new study, just published in the journal Nature.

While Antarctica is a largely frozen continent, isolated ice-free areas - including exposed mountaintops, cliffs, valleys and islands - are already scattered across the region, and may range in size from less than a square mile to hundreds of square miles. They may be separated by anywhere from a few feet to dozens or hundreds of miles.

"It's not a simple picture, and ice-free areas occur in many forms," said study co-author Thomas Bracegirdle, a climatologist with the British Antarctic Survey, in an email to The Washington Post, adding that these zones may be distributed both along the coastline and further inland across the continent.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Secluded as they may be in some cases, these areas can be home to various species of vegetation, microbes, worms or insects and other small organisms, and may also serve as breeding grounds for animals like seals and seabirds. These species tend to be highly specialized for the extreme conditions in which they live, said Peter Convey, a terrestrial ecologist with the British Antarctic Survey, who was not involved with the new study. Some of them may be dormant throughout much of the year. Others may have developed specific adaptations that allow them to survive in conditions with high winds, little water or extreme low temperatures.

Additionally, some species are found only in very specific areas - in fact, a few have only been recorded in a single ice-free zone. Others may be more widespread across the continent, but may have developed different adaptations in different areas. In general, Antarctica is home to many diverse and fragile communities that may be highly susceptible to environmental change.

"From the outside, we look at Antarctica as one big continent - it's all covered in ice, it's all the same thing," Convey told The Washington Post. " And actually, we wouldn't do that with any other continents. Any other continent has got different zones in it, different habitats that host different things. And what's actually become clear in recent research is that Antarctica divides up into a lot of other biogeographic zones."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But according to the new paper, there's been very little research so far on how climate change and ice melt in Antarctica may affect the life-forms it hosts. The study suggests that, in fact, these influences have the potential to cause profound changes in Antarctic biodiversity.

Led by Jasmine Lee of the University of Queensland, the team of researchers used a model to make projections of future Antarctic ice melt under two hypothetical climate trajectories: a business-as-usual scenario, which assumes unabated greenhouse gas emissions and high levels of future climate change, and a slightly more moderate scenario.

The researchers found that the Antarctic Peninsula - one of the most rapidly warming areas on the continent, where large levels of glacial ice loss are already occurring - will likely suffer the most extreme changes through the rest of this century. Between the two climate scenarios considered, the model suggests that Antarctic continent may see anywhere from 800 square miles to more than 6,600 square miles in new ice-free area opening up by the year 2100, with more than 85 percent of this area emerging on the North Antarctic Peninsula.

And not only will there be more ice-free area, but previously isolated ice-free zones may begin to merge with one another - meaning populations of organisms that were previously isolated could begin to come into contact.

Discover more

New Zealand

Antarctic storm: 'Like living in a wind tunnel'

19 Jun 05:31 AM
World

Scientists create ice archive in Antarctica

24 Jun 06:21 AM
World

Chemical delays healing of ozone hole

27 Jun 09:07 PM
World

Winners and losers of Antarctica's great thaw

29 Jun 09:04 PM

These changes could come with good and bad consequences for native Antarctic species, the researchers suggest. On the one hand, more ice-free area means more habitat space for plants and animals. When considering only native species, the increase in liveable space - along with the milder conditions likely to be brought by climate change - could actually be a positive for many organisms.

On the other hand, the expanding habitat area could also lead to the spread of invasive species, which are often less specialized than native Antarctic organisms and better equipped to compete for resources, especially as conditions grow milder and more favorable in Antarctica.

"If they can get to a place and survive, then [invasives] are strong competitors," Convey said. "The ultimate problem with most real invading species is that they can out-compete the native species."

Humans have already inadvertently carried multiple nonnative species down to Antarctica from other parts of the world on ships or planes, either through industrial or research voyages. Invasive insects, such as midges and beetles, have already established themselves on certain islands in the Southern Ocean. And there's evidence that invasive species on the Antarctic Peninsula could eventually become cause for concern as well. Studies suggest that an invasive meadow grass, called Poa annua, is already showing signs that it could begin to out-compete native species in the region, the new paper says.

And the researchers add that even native species could begin to compete with each other as they come into contact for the first time. While they aren't strong competitors in the same sense as invasive species, Convey said, "they could certainly survive in a new region if we moved them - a and that very clearly has an impact on the biology in the new region."

That said, Convey added, even without humans carrying new species to the South Pole, the Antarctic ecosystem would be unlikely to remain the same forever - and that's not necessarily preventable or even always a bad thing. Particularly as the climate continues to change, organisms may move around the world and end up in new places all on their own, a process known as natural colonisation. And in a warming world, scientists have suggested that these types of migrations may even be necessary to the survival of certain species.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There is a danger of seeing conservation as saying we must keep everything as it is now," Convey said. And while limiting the harmful influences of human activities is important, he added that "we shouldn't think of Antarctica as being hermetically sealed and it must always look like it does now."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Cambodia to implement military conscription amid Thailand tensions

World

Trump says US will send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine

World

German 'doctor death' facing trial for alleged murder of at least 15 patients


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Cambodia to implement military conscription amid Thailand tensions
World

Cambodia to implement military conscription amid Thailand tensions

Long dormant, conscription's required service period will rise from 18 to 24 months.

14 Jul 07:05 AM
Trump says US will send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine
World

Trump says US will send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine

14 Jul 04:56 AM
German 'doctor death' facing trial for alleged murder of at least 15 patients
World

German 'doctor death' facing trial for alleged murder of at least 15 patients

14 Jul 04:47 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP