Article
Environmental Sciences
Peter T. Fretwell, Aude Boutet, Norman Ratcliffe
Summary: The spring season of 2022 witnessed a record low sea ice extent in Antarctica, leading to breeding failures among emperor penguin colonies. With the help of Sentinel2 satellite imagery, the study provides evidence of this regional decline in sea ice extent and its direct impact on the breeding success of emperor penguins. This is the first documented incident of widespread breeding failure in emperor penguins that can be attributed to large-scale contractions in sea ice extent.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
P. A. Reid, R. A. Massom
Summary: Loss of protective sea-ice buffer in Antarctica has led to increased exposure of the coastal environment to open ocean and waves, which has significant effects on ice-shelf stability, coastal erosion, ice-ocean-atmosphere interactions, and shallow benthic ecosystems. Researchers have introduced a climate and environmental metric called Coastal Exposure Length, which measures the daily changes and variability in the length and occurrence of unprotected coastline in Antarctica. The study found that around 50% of Antarctica's 17,850-km coastline had no sea ice offshore each summer, with variations in exposure levels across regions and seasons. From 1979 to 2020, the annual maximum length of coastal exposure decreased by approximately 30 km per year.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Claire L. Parkinson, Nicolo E. DiGirolamo
Summary: The satellite dataset spanning 42 years from 1979 to 2020 reveals recent losses in sea ice coverage in both the Arctic and Antarctic, with the Arctic experiencing record low sea ice extents while the Antarctic has seen record lows since 2015. The data also shows that globally, every calendar month has recorded a new monthly record low within the past 5 years, indicating a rapid decline in global sea ice coverage.
REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Review
Geochemistry & Geophysics
A. D. Fraser, P. Wongpan, P. J. Langhorne, A. R. Klekociuk, K. Kusahara, D. Lannuzel, R. A. Massom, K. M. Meiners, K. M. Swadling, D. P. Atwater, G. M. Brett, M. Corkill, L. A. Dalman, S. Fiddes, A. Granata, L. Guglielmo, P. Heil, G. H. Leonard, A. R. Mahoney, A. McMinn, P. van der Merwe, C. K. Weldrick, B. Wienecke
Summary: Antarctic landfast sea ice, also known as fast ice, is stationary sea ice that is attached to the coast, grounded icebergs, ice shelves, or other protrusions on the continental shelf. Despite its limited extent, fast ice plays a crucial role in various physical, biological, and biogeochemical processes, with both local and far-reaching consequences for the Earth system.
REVIEWS OF GEOPHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kazuya Kusahara
Summary: Recent observations have shown changes in the Antarctic sea ice and ice shelf over the years. Analysis from an ocean-sea ice-ice shelf model reveals a clear anti-correlation between Antarctic sea ice extent and ice shelf basal melting, indicating that the summer sea ice extent can act as a proxy for predicting Antarctic coastal water masses and ice shelf melting.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Wilton Aguiar, Sang-Ki Lee, Hosmay Lopez, Shenfu Dong, Helene Seroussi, Dani C. Jones, Adele K. Morrison
Summary: Melting of the ice sheet in the Southern Ocean has implications for the formation and properties of the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). Models have been used to examine the effects of different spatial distributions and magnitudes of meltwater fluxes on AABW. The study finds that a realistic and spatially varying meltwater flux can sustain AABW with higher salinities compared to uniform meltwater flux simulations. Furthermore, the increasing meltwater discharge from the Antarctic ice sheet can contribute to the observed freshening of AABW.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Kazuya Kusahara, Hiroaki Tatebe, Tomohiro Hajima, Fuyuki Saito, Michio Kawamiya
Summary: Future atmospheric warming can result in enhanced basal melting of Antarctic ice shelves, caused by a combination of warm deep water intrusions and warm surface water formation. This melting will lead to irreversible changes in the Antarctic ice shelves and Southern Ocean climate.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2023)
Article
Biology
William S. Y. Wong, Lukas Hauer, Paul A. Cziko, Konrad Meister
Summary: The research finds that the Antarctic scallop Adamussium colbecki possesses a unique micro-ridge structure that allows it to control underwater ice formation, preventing dangerous accumulation and firm attachment of ice. This special structure helps protect the scallops from anchor ice and may be a key trait for their survival in anchor ice zones.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Oceanography
Daniel N. Goldberg, Andrew G. Twelves, Paul R. Holland, Martin G. Wearing
Summary: Little is known about Antarctic subglacial hydrology, but it is believed that subglacial runoff enhances submarine melt locally through buoyancy effects. This study examines the effects of runoff on sea ice and oceanography on the Continental Shelf, and finds that runoff enhances localized melt and reduces summer sea ice volume. Runoff-driven melt and circulation may be an important missing process in regional Antarctic ocean models.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
John Turner, Caroline Holmes, Thomas Caton Harrison, Tony Phillips, Babula Jena, Tylei Reeves-Francois, Ryan Fogt, Elizabeth R. Thomas, C. C. Bajish
Summary: On February 25, 2022, Antarctic sea ice extent reached a satellite-era record low level, and sea ice anomalies were observed in all sectors of the Southern Ocean, with the largest anomalies in the Ross and Weddell Seas.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tian R. Tian, Alexander D. Fraser, Thomas Lavergne, Sonya L. Fiddes, Chen Zhao, Petra Heil
Summary: Sea ice kinematics has significant impacts on the global ocean-atmosphere system, affecting albedo, ice cover, heat transmission, and ice thickness distribution. A new ice motion product called S2S shows promise in representing ice drift trajectories, but its application in ice kinematics research is yet to be explored. This study investigates Antarctic sea ice differential kinematic parameters using the S2S ice motion product and compares them with parameters derived from daily maps. The results indicate a strong correlation between S2S-derived parameters and time scale, as well as a relationship with ice thickness, suggesting the potential for proxy measurements of ice thickness.
REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Felix Paul, Tommy Mielke, Carina Schwarz, Joerg Schroeder, Tokoloho Rampai, Sebastian Skatulla, Riesna R. Audh, Ehlke Hepworth, Marcello Vichi, Doru C. Lupascu
Summary: Frazil ice, the first ice forming in the annual cycle in the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) of the Antarctic, consists of loose disc-shaped ice crystals and plays a fundamental role in the freezing processes by forming the surface grease ice layer. The rheological properties of frazil ice, including shear thinning flow behavior, have a crucial influence on the growth of sea ice in the MIZ, and real-data-founded measurements enable modeling of the annual ice cycle.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lei Liang, Huadong Guo, Shuang Liang, Xichen Li, John C. Moore, Xinwu Li, Xiao Cheng, Wenjin Wu, Yan Liu, Annette Rinke, Gensuo Jia, Feifei Pan, Chen Gong
Summary: Antarctica's response to climate change varies greatly in location and time. Using a 43-year record, we found that both the start and end of the snowmelt season in Antarctica are being delayed. The delay in the melt season is caused by increased heat flux from the ocean to the atmosphere and is influenced by sea-ice variability. This delay in snowmelt season results in a decrease in surface solar radiation absorption.
NATIONAL SCIENCE REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
N. J. Teder, L. G. Bennetts, P. A. Reid, R. A. Massom
Summary: Sea ice can attenuate the impact of swell on Antarctic ice shelves, but certain ice shelves may still experience flexural stresses caused by large swell, exacerbating climate-driven weakening and decreased buttressing capacity, thus influencing sea-level rise.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yunhe Wang, Xiaojun Yuan, Yibin Ren, Mitchell Bushuk, Qi Shu, Cuihua Li, Xiaofeng Li
Summary: A deep learning model called SIPNet has been developed to predict Antarctic sea ice concentration (SIC) at subseasonal scale, filling the gap in prediction capability. Autumn SIC variability contributes the most to sea ice predictability, whereas spring contributes the least. SIPNet can also capture the signal of ENSO and SAM on sea ice.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Christophe Barbraud, Karine Delord
Summary: The study showed that in wild populations of long-lived species, immigrants have lower fitness than residents, with fewer breeding attempts, fledglings, breeding success, and recruits. This may be due to asymmetric limiting resources and the competitive ability of dispersers vs. non-dispersers, supporting female-biased dispersal in birds.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Fabrice Genevois, Christophe Barbraud
Summary: Interspecific feeding refers to the behavior where an adult of one species feeds the young of another species, excluding brood parasitism. This behavior is more commonly observed among passerines in birds, and our report describes interspecific feeding between an adult gentoo penguin and an Adelie penguin chick on the Antarctic Peninsula.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Karine Delord, Cedric Cotte, Pascal Terray, Charles-Andre Bost, Henri Weimerskirch, Christophe Barbraud
Summary: The study found no significant long-term trend in the body condition of adult northern rockhopper penguins at Amsterdam Island, despite variation between years and sexes influenced by environmental factors. This suggests that the population decline since 1997 is likely not due to environmental conditions during pre-breeding and pre-moult, warranting further research on possible drivers during the breeding season.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Christophe Barbraud, Baudouin des Monstiers, Adrien Chaigne, Cedric Marteau, Henri Weimerskirch, Karine Delord
Summary: Feral cats have been found to prey on wandering albatrosses at Kerguelen Island, negatively impacting breeding success and population growth rate. A cat control experiment significantly increased breeding success and population growth rate, indicating the importance of implementing feral cat control measures to prevent population decline or local extinction of large albatross species.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Maud Queroue, Christophe Barbraud, Frederic Barraquand, Daniel Turek, Karine Delord, Nathan Pacoureau, Olivier Gimenez
Summary: Assessing the effects of climate and interspecific relationships on communities is challenging due to the need to integrate information across multiple biological levels. Research found that climate and predator-prey interactions impact skuas and petrels in different ways, with bottom-up mechanisms being the main drivers of this skua-petrel system.
ECOLOGICAL MONOGRAPHS
(2021)
Article
Ornithology
Christophe Barbraud, Christian Bavoux, Guy Burneleau
Summary: A study in western France found that the population of Eurasian Scops Owls is increasing, with adult survival linked to autumn rainfall in the Sahel and the winter North Atlantic Oscillation. Younger birds contribute the most to the variance in population growth rate, followed by clutch size, fledging success, and survival of older birds. The research sheds new light on the decline of European Scops Owls and other Afro-Palaearctic bird populations, potentially due to factors like food shortage.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
W. J. Sydeman, D. S. Schoeman, S. A. Thompson, B. A. Hoover, M. Garcia-Reyes, F. Daunt, P. Agnew, T. Anker-Nilssen, C. Barbraud, R. Barrett, P. H. Becker, E. Bell, P. D. Boersma, S. Bouwhuis, B. Cannell, R. J. M. Crawford, P. Dann, K. Delord, G. Elliott, K. E. Erikstad, E. Flint, R. W. Furness, M. P. Harris, S. Hatch, K. Hilwig, J. T. Hinke, J. Jahncke, J. A. Mills, T. K. Reiertsen, H. Renner, R. B. Sherley, C. Surman, G. Taylor, J. A. Thayer, P. N. Trathan, E. Velarde, K. Walker, S. Wanless, P. Warzybok, Y. Watanuki
Summary: Climate change and human activities have profound effects on marine ecosystem productivity, particularly impacting seabird breeding success, with stronger effects on fish-eating species in the northern hemisphere; hence, ocean management at hemispheric scales and targeted recovery plans are necessary. In the southern hemisphere, lower changes in seabird productivity provide opportunities for strategic management approaches like establishing large marine protected areas to sustain food webs and predator productivity.
Article
Biology
Naouel Benharzallah, Abdelkrim Si Bachir, Christophe Barbraud
Summary: The study aimed to examine the impact of nest site characteristics and food supplementation from rubbish dumps on the reproductive parameters of white storks. The results showed that white storks breeding near rubbish dumps had larger nest sizes, hatched more chicks, and raised more fledglings compared to those breeding far from rubbish dumps. The study also found that nest size was positively correlated with nest surface area, and breeding success was lower for storks nesting on electricity poles compared to those nesting in trees.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Lea Lorrain-Soligon, Frederic Robin, Vincent Lelong, Marko Jankovic, Christophe Barbraud, Frakois Brischoux
Summary: Salinization caused by sea-level rise and marine submersions has significant impacts on coastal ecosystems, particularly on the biodiversity of coastal wetlands. This study investigated the effects of environmental salinity on population structure and individual characteristics of the western spadefoot toad in two populations along the French Atlantic coast. The distance to the shoreline was found to strongly influence salt exposure on a small spatial scale, and certain variables showed consistent responses across sites, while others displayed site-specific responses, potentially related to breeding site salinity.
BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Christophe Barbraud, Karine Delord, Fabrice Le Bouard, Roald Harivel, Jeremie Demay, Adrien Chaigne, Thierry Micol
Summary: Twenty years after the successful eradication of invasive mammals on Saint-Paul Island, seabird populations significantly increased, with seven new seabird species colonizing the island. Species vulnerable to rat predation, such as prions, great-winged petrel, white-bellied storm petrel, and Antarctic tern, showed the highest population growth rates. These findings highlight the importance of invasive mammal eradication on islands.
JOURNAL FOR NATURE CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Maria Laranjeiro, Marc Farre, Richard A. Phillips, Petra Quillfeldt, Francesco Bonadonna, Charlene Gemard, Maximiliano Daigre, Cristian G. Suazo, Christophe Barbraud, Joan Navarro
Summary: Morphological variation in bill shape among planktivorous petrels (Antarctic prion, blue petrel, and thin-billed prion) is primarily driven by diet and potential niche differentiation. Antarctic prions have robust and shorter bills for filtering small prey, while blue petrels and thin-billed prions have narrower and longer bills for catching larger prey. Geographic variation in bill shape, specifically longer and narrower bills in Kerguelen colonies, may be associated with diet differences. Prey availability and diversity are important factors influencing bill morphology.
Article
Ecology
Aurore Ponchon, Amandine Gamble, Jeremy Tornos, Karine Delord, Christophe Barbraud, Justin M. J. Travis, Henri Weimerskirch, Thierry Boulinier
Summary: Breeding failure is expected to lead to behavioral changes in central place foragers, with individuals adjusting their behavior and potentially using different foraging areas to reduce competition with successful breeders. A study on Indian yellow-nosed albatrosses showed that failed breeders exhibited similar at-sea foraging behavior as successful breeders, although there was partial spatial segregation in their habitat use. This highlights the importance of considering individual breeding status when studying seabird behavior and habitat use.
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
(2021)
Article
Environmental Studies
Pamela E. Michael, Chris Wilcox, Christophe Barbraud, Karine Delord, Michael Sumner, Henri Weimerskirch
Summary: Managing marine systems is challenging due to the high mobility of many marine species, with bycatch being one of the threats. The traditional characterization of bycatch overlooks the long-term impacts on the population, while incorporating an estimate of reproductive value (RV) serves as a complementary tool. Dynamic bycatch enforcement is theoretically more efficient than static enforcement, but the difference diminishes as the population-wide RV subject to enforcement increases.
Article
Environmental Studies
Karine Delord, Timothee Poupart, Nicolas Gasco, Henri Weimerskirch, Christophe Barbraud
Summary: Albatrosses, particularly the Amsterdam albatross, are globally threatened by fisheries bycatch. This study reveals the first evidence of an Amsterdam albatross wandering outside the Indian Ocean, in the Pacific Ocean, raising concerns about overlaps with fisheries and conservation issues. The research provides new insights and guidance for the conservation of this endangered species.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Scott A. Shaffer, Pierre Blevin, Christophe Barbraud, Olivier Chastel, Henri Weimerskirch
Summary: The study found that egg turning rates, angle changes, and egg temperatures were similar for snow petrels and Cape petrels. However, egg neglect was only observed in snow petrel nests, where neglected eggs would cool down but be quickly rewarmed by parents.
ANIMAL BIOTELEMETRY
(2021)