Exploring South Africa's southern frontier : a 20-year vision for polar research through the South African National Antarctic Programme

dc.contributor.authorAnsorge, Isabelle J.
dc.contributor.authorSkelton, Paul Harvey
dc.contributor.authorBekker, Annie
dc.contributor.authorDe Bruyn, P.J. Nico
dc.contributor.authorButterworth, Doug
dc.contributor.authorCilliers, Pierre
dc.contributor.authorCooper, John
dc.contributor.authorCowan, Don A.
dc.contributor.authorDorrington, Rosemary
dc.contributor.authorFawcett, Sarah
dc.contributor.authorFietz, Susanne
dc.contributor.authorFindlay, Kenneth Pierce
dc.contributor.authorFroneman, P. William
dc.contributor.authorGrantham, Geoff H.
dc.contributor.authorGreve, Michelle
dc.contributor.authorHedding, D.W. (David William)
dc.contributor.authorHofmeyr, G.J. Greg (Gordon John Gregory)
dc.contributor.authorKosch, Michael
dc.contributor.authorLe Roux, Peter Christiaan
dc.contributor.authorLucas, Mike
dc.contributor.authorMacHutchon, Keith
dc.contributor.authorMeiklejohn, K.I. (Ian)
dc.contributor.authorNel, Werner
dc.contributor.authorPistorius, Pierre Anton
dc.contributor.authorRyan, Peter G.
dc.contributor.authorStander, Johan
dc.contributor.authorSwart, Sebastiaan
dc.contributor.authorTreasure, Anne
dc.contributor.authorVichi, Marcello
dc.contributor.authorJaansen van Vuuren, Bettine J.
dc.date.accessioned2017-08-03T12:29:39Z
dc.date.available2017-08-03T12:29:39Z
dc.date.issued2017-05
dc.description.abstractAntarctica, the sub-Antarctic islands and surrounding Southern Ocean are regarded as one of the planet’s last remaining wildernesses, ‘insulated from threat by [their] remoteness and protection under the Antarctic Treaty System’. Antarctica encompasses some of the coldest, windiest and driest habitats on earth. Within the Southern Ocean, sub-Antarctic islands are found between the Sub-Antarctic Front to the north and the Polar Front to the south. Lying in a transition zone between warmer subtropical and cooler Antarctic waters, these islands are important sentinels from which to study climate change. A growing body of evidence now suggests that climatically driven changes in the latitudinal boundaries of these two fronts define the islands’ short- and long-term atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. Consequently, sub-Antarctic islands and their associated terrestrial and marine ecosystems offer ideal natural laboratories for studying ecosystem response to change. For example, a recent study indicates that the shift in the geographical position of the oceanic fronts has disrupted inshore marine ecosystems, with a possible impact on top predators. Importantly, biotic responses are variable as indicated by different population trends of these top predators. When studied collectively, these variations in species’ demographic patterns point to complex spatial and temporal changes within the broader sub-Antarctic ecosystem, and invite further examination of the interplay between extrinsic and intrinsic drivers.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentGeneticsen_ZA
dc.description.departmentMammal Research Instituteen_ZA
dc.description.departmentZoology and Entomologyen_ZA
dc.description.librarianam2017en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.sajs.co.zaen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationAnsorge IJ, Skelton P, Bekker A, De Bruyn PJN, Butterworth D, Cilliers P, et al. Exploring South Africa’s southern frontier: A 20-year vision for polar research through the South African National Antarctic Programme. S Afr J Sci. 2017;113(5/6), Art. #a0205, 7 pages. http://dx.DOI.org/ 10.17159/sajs.2017/a0205.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0038-2353 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1996-7489 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.17159/sajs.2017/a0205
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/61571
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherAcademy of Science of South Africaen_ZA
dc.rights© 2017. The Author(s). Published under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence.en_ZA
dc.subjectAntarcticaen_ZA
dc.subjectSouthern Oceanen_ZA
dc.subjectSub-Antarctic ecosystemen_ZA
dc.subjectSub-Antarctic islandsen_ZA
dc.subjectClimate changeen_ZA
dc.titleExploring South Africa's southern frontier : a 20-year vision for polar research through the South African National Antarctic Programmeen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA

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