PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Antarctic life -- highly diverse, unusually structured

2015-06-25
(Press-News.org) In a comprehensive assessment of Antarctic biodiversity, published in Nature this week, scientists have revealed the region is more diverse and biologically interesting than previously thought.

The team of scientists, led by Monash University, along with colleagues from the British Antarctic Survey, University of Waikato in New Zealand, and Australian National University, looked at how recent investigations have revealed the continent and surrounding ocean is rich in species. They are also very highly diversified into a variety of distinct ecological regions that differ greatly from each other.

Lead author, Professor Steven Chown, School of Biological Sciences at Monash, said the team explicitly focussed on demonstrating the diversity of various areas of the Antarctic continent and Southern Ocean.

"Most people think of the continent as a vast, icy waste, and the sea as uniformly populated by whales, seals and penguins. But that's simply not true," he said.

"There's much biodiversity on land, especially among the micro-organisms, such as bacteria, and the seafloor is very rich in larger unusual species, such as sea spiders and isopods (the marine equivalents of slaters or wood lice). More than 8000 species are known from the marine environment."

Dr Ceridwen Fraser, co-author from the Australian National University said: "Each area of the Antarctic also has very different groupings of species; while initially they may look the same, they are actually very different."

The team also noted several unusual ways in which patterns of biodiversity are produced in the region. Geothermal, heated areas, such as volcanoes, have played an important role as refuges from icy, glacial conditions on land. At sea, wind has an especially significant effect on diversity. Windier areas have more seabird species.

Professor Chown said: "Increasing wind speeds, associated with the ozone hole, have, quite unusually, improved conditions for wandering albatrosses, reducing their travel time and enabling them to become much heavier as adults."

Professor Craig Cary, co-author from the University of Waikato, New Zealand, added: "Antarctica and the Southern Ocean have much more biodiversity, structured in more interesting ways than ever previously thought. Sub-glacial micro-organismal life provides an excellent example of a surprising recent discovery."

Conservation

Professor Chown said the team also made a brief assessment of the conservation status of biodiversity in the region.

"We found that in some cases conservation measures are excellent, such as in the case of the prevention of invasive alien species," Professor Chown said.

For others, work by the Antarctic Treaty Parties is still required. For example, the area covered by special protection on land (the equivalent of national parks), and by marine protected areas at sea, is still too small, when measured by global targets such as those of the Strategic Plan on Biodiversity 2011-2020.

The team drew particular attention to the need for comprehensive protection of the Ross Sea.

Professor Andrew Clarke, co-author from the British Antarctic Survey said: "This is one of the planet's last, relatively intact, large marine ecosystems. It is unusual in this respect, and thus provides a suite of globally significant conservation benefits and scientific insights."

The work reported in this paper is part of a larger, global effort to further understand the biodiversity of the Antarctic region, its conservation needs, and the science that will be needed to progress understanding in the area.

Professor Melodie McGeoch, co-author from Monash University said: "Ultimately, the region will require a dedicated plan for biodiversity conservation, similar to those being developed for most other regions of the planet. We think there's plenty of appetite for developing it."

Key findings from the review:

- The Antarctic has very distinct biogeographic regions, each with different groups of species; it's not simply one homogeneous area.

- Terrestrial and marine diversity has relied on a variety of refugia (shelters), including geothermal refuges, while life has also persisted sub-glacially.

- Antarctic micro-organismal systems can be among the most diverse globally, but also highly specialised to arid, low nutrient conditions.

- There are good reasons to improve efforts to conserve biodiversity in the region.

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Writing program with student interaction creates sense of purpose for seniors

2015-06-25
A unique program combining a life review writing workshop with conversations between seniors and college students enhances the sense of meaning in life for older adults living independently, finds a new study by NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. The study is published in the July/August issue of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy. Americans are living longer than ever. The majority of older adults in our aging population want to remain in their own home or "age in place," as opposed to moving to housing for seniors or moving ...

Are your emotional responses normal or abnormal?

2015-06-25
London, UK (June 25, 2015)- We all feel emotion, we all get upset, can feel low, angry and overjoyed, but when do these emotional responses become something of a medical concern? When are these feelings inappropriate, too intense, or lasting too long? When is the emotional state you are in classed as depression? In light of the 5th revision of the influential Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM- 5), where a person can now be diagnosed as undergoing a "major depressive episode" if showing depressive symptoms for more than two weeks after bereavement, ...

Redrawing language map of brain

2015-06-25
Mapping brain is like 'charting new galaxies in outer space' Old map based on stroke; new one based on neurodegenerative disease More precise brain target for future therapies to restore language CHICAGO -- For 140 years, scientists' understanding of language comprehension in the brain came from individuals with stroke. Based on language impairments caused by stroke, scientists believed a single area of the brain -- a hotdog shaped section in the temporal lobe of the left hemisphere called Wernicke's region -- was the center of language comprehension. Wernicke's ...

Medical research not addressing patient and clinician priorities

2015-06-25
Research on treatments for health problems, such as diabetes, stroke and schizophrenia, is not being focused on the treatments considered most important by patients and clinicians, according to a study published in the open access journal Research Involvement and Engagement. The study suggests that current research is instead favoring drug treatments over physical or psychological therapies, or interventions to improve educational approaches or service organization. Study author Iain Chalmers, one of the founders of the Cochrane Collaboration and James Lind Alliance, ...

A supportive close friendship helps boys and girls overcome adversity

2015-06-25
A single supportive close friendship can help young people from low-income backgrounds to thrive in challenging circumstances, according to a new University of Sussex study. The research, led by psychologist Dr Rebecca Graber, is published today, Thursday 25 June, in the British Journal of Psychology. Young people from low-income areas typically face substantial challenges to good physical health, mental health, academic achievement and employment. Previous research has linked these challenges to involvement with peers and membership of larger friendship groups - ...

As smoking declines, more are likely to quit

2015-06-25
Smokeless tobacco and, more recently, e-cigarettes have been promoted as a harm reduction strategy for smokers who are "unable or unwilling to quit." The strategy, embraced by both industry and some public health advocates, is based on the assumption that as smoking declines overall, only those who cannot quit will remain. A new study by researchers at UC San Francisco has found just the opposite. The researchers analyzed survey data spanning 18 years in the United States and six years in the European Union. They found that, contrary to the prevailing assumptions, ...

BMJ investigation examines bitter dispute over e-cigarettes in the public health community

2015-06-25
An investigation published by The BMJ today reveals how the controversial concept of "harm reduction", embraced enthusiastically by the tobacco industry, has sharply divided the public health community. On one side of the increasingly bitter dispute are those who believe it is time to work with the industry in support of products such as e-cigarettes. Those in the other camp, however, not only contest the claimed public health benefits of the new products but also fear harm reduction is a cynical and superficial smokescreen for an industry that has every intention of ...

Women have up to a fourfold increase in risk of stillbirth following a previous stillbirth

2015-06-25
Women who have experienced a stillbirth have up to a fourfold increased risk of stillbirth in a second pregnancy compared to those who had an initial live birth, finds a new meta-analysis published in The BMJ this week. Stillbirth rates have declined across most of Europe, but the UK still has a major public health problem. Ranked 33rd out of 35 for stillbirth rates among European countries, the UK recorded 3,286 stillborn babies in 2013. "Stillbirth is one of the most common adverse obstetric outcomes and a traumatic experience for parents," explain Sohinee Bhattacharya ...

UNAIDS-Lancet Commission: World must drastically accelerate AIDS efforts or face more

2015-06-25
Countries most affected by HIV must focus on stopping new HIV infections and expanding access to antiretroviral treatment or risk the epidemic rebounding, urges a major new report from the UNAIDS and Lancet Commission. "We must face hard truths--if the current rate of new HIV infections continues, merely sustaining the major efforts we already have in place will not be enough to stop deaths from AIDS increasing within five years in many countries," said Professor Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Co-Chair of the Commission, and ...

Needle exchanges can prevent more HIV outbreaks like one in Indiana

2015-06-25
Congress needs to immediately lift the ban on federal funding for needle exchange programs to counter the threat of HIV outbreaks among injection drug users like the one that has seen an alarming number of new cases erupt in a single rural Indiana county. So say Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Professor Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH, and Steffanie A. Strathdee, PhD, director of the Institute of Global Health at the University of California-San Diego, in a commentary published online June 24 in The New England Journal of Medicine. "There are going to be more ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Cercus electric stimulation enables cockroach with trajectory control and spatial cognition training

Day-long conference addresses difficult to diagnose lung disease

First-ever cardiogenic shock academy features simulation lab

Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

[Press-News.org] Antarctic life -- highly diverse, unusually structured