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The scientific journal Science has published an international study The study analyses our knowledge of Antarctic biodiversity, characterising both the advances in research and the gaps that still exist, thereby identifying the great unknowns about its ecology and evolution. The results show that, although a great deal is known about the biology of marine vertebrates that reproduce on the coast, such as penguins and seals, there is still a great lack of knowledge about much of the diversity and functioning of the terrestrial ecosystems of the frozen continent.
The authors of the article highlight the need to invest more in taxonomic studies on cryptic groups, population monitoring, regional sampling in less explored areas, and the characterization of functional traits and physiological responses. According to the study, led by the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC) and the Institute for Research on Global Change of the Rey Juan Carlos University (IICG-URJC), the standardization of methods and integration and accessibility of data is also necessary.
“This study has allowed us, for the first time, to have a complete overview of the level of ecological knowledge for an entire continent, setting the standard for exporting this type of study to Europe and other territories with much greater complexity,” says Luis R. Pertierra, leader of this work. “That is, knowing what we know, and what we don’t, as a basis for identifying what we still have to learn.”
Summary diagram of the study results
“Antarctica is one of the few territories on the planet that remains practically pristine, with environmental characteristics that make it home to a unique biodiversity,” explains MNCN researcher Asunción de los Ríos. “Research on the frozen continent began just two centuries ago and its study has revealed important discoveries about the evolution and functioning of life in such isolated places with such extreme climatic conditions,” says the researcher.
“Furthermore, these are ecosystems that perform important functions, such as climate regulation, and therefore it is key to understand how they are being affected by the effects of global change,” says Leopoldo García Sancho, a researcher at the Complutense University of Madrid. This study confirms that more than 2,000 species of terrestrial fauna, microbiota and flora have already been described for a system that is apparently inert and surrounded by ice, but that many more remain to be discovered. Added to this is the difficulty of accessing tens of thousands of microorganisms (such as bacteria and viruses) that are likely to be under the ice. As a result, what we know about the properties of these organisms is even scarcer, and very variable between different groups.
Multidisciplinary and international collaboration
“We are at a critical point where it is necessary to stop and analyse what we know and what remains to be discovered about this fascinating continent in order to direct the following research efforts,” says Pertierra. That is why scientists from different parts of the world have come together in this work to analyse the gaps in knowledge of Antarctic biodiversity. Among its authors is Andrés Barbosa, a prominent member of the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) and who was also coordinator of Spanish research on this continent, who sadly passed away two years ago and to whom this study is dedicated.
This international group of researchers has compiled and analysed the information collected in the main global databases on biodiversity. “Large repositories such as GBIF, which compiles data on spatial occurrence, or GenBank, which gathers genetic information, allow us to examine the distribution of biodiversity and to identify gaps in our knowledge about it,” says Cristina Ronquillo, co-author of the study who works at the MNCN. The analysis of this massive data shows that, within animals (almost 400 species), the main focus is on twenty vertebrates, with a minority, but growing, knowledge of invertebrates.
“It is worth noting that this systematized knowledge is mainly aimed at describing the climatic tolerances of species,” emphasizes Miguel Ángel Olalla Tárraga, researcher at the IICG-URJC. This is probably because “we have a pressing demand for information on these tolerances to understand the responses of species to increasing temperatures,” says Pablo Escribano, also from the URJC. On the other hand, we barely know the structure of food webs in Antarctic ecosystems. “Basically our knowledge is limited to a rough idea of who eats whom,” says Pertierra.
Increasing knowledge to improve Antarctic conservation
There is also a great lack of information about the functional traits of most species, which makes it difficult to identify the mechanisms that allow them to adapt their physiology to extreme conditions. In the case of flora, we have a broad understanding of its distribution, which is increasingly better thanks to satellite measurements that identify patches of vegetation in high-resolution images. But again, this knowledge is not supported by advances in other disciplines. “For example, we know very little about their evolutionary relationships, or the nature of their interactions,” says Pertierra. The lack of knowledge about microorganisms is even greater. “Recent studies on the functioning and flow of nutrients in communities of microorganisms, as well as their movement from one area to another, give us clues about how microscopic life develops in such an extreme climate,” adds Antonio Quesada, a researcher at the Autonomous University of Madrid.
The paper emphasises that this imbalance in knowledge of the biology of so many groups of organisms prevents us from understanding how ecological processes develop in Antarctica, which is key to guiding conservation measures in the face of global change. “Analyses of the gaps in knowledge about biodiversity allow us to identify the main research needs in the coming years. In the case of Antarctica, it is necessary to invest in taxonomic research, monitor populations, identify model species, standardise the study methods we use and integrate the data we obtain. These are some of the measures we propose to resolve the unknowns we have about this important and fascinating territory,” concludes Joaquín Hortal, also a researcher at the MNCN.