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| | | Polar Ecosystems |
Maintained by NOAA
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| | Polar Ecosystems | | |  The Arctic and Antarctic regions are both characterized by: - ice and snow,
- year-round cold temperatures, and
- drastic changes in photoperiod that prevent photosynthesis during a large part of the year.
However, there are fundamental differences that make the two polar regions very different both physically and biologically. We have a better understanding of shallow-water Antarctic ecosystems than we have of the Arctic ecosystems.
South Shetland Islands, Antarctic Peninsula with Weddell seals, Southern fur seals and Chinstrap penguins. Photo: NOAA Fisheries. | | | | Antarctic Region | | |  The Antarctic marine ecosystem lies in the circumpolar Southern Ocean surrounding the central continent of Antarctica. There is no inflow from rivers or sediment but nutrient rich water rises to the surface and fertilizes the Antarctic surface waters. The Antarctic fauna is far richer than the Arctic and has a high degree of endemism and biomass. Antarctic benthic communities usually have several dominant species. The fish fauna is mostly endemic and adapted to below-freezing water. The bird communities are similar at a given latitude in all parts of the Southern Ocean basin.
South Shetland Islands, Antarctic Peninsula. Adelie and Chinstrap penguins. Photo: NOAA Fisheries. | | | | Arctic Region | | |  By contrast, the Arctic Ocean system is an isolated sea, permanently covered by ice in the center, and surrounded by landmasses. These have several large rivers that discharge sediment into the basin resulting in a substrate of particulate matter and a low-saline stratified surface layer. The Arctic fauna is impoverished and derives from the Atlantic Ocean. Arctic benthic communities are often dominated by one or only a few species. The fish fauna is generalized. There are strong differences between the bird communities at similar latitudes in different parts of the ocean basin.
Polar bears, Ursus maritimus, typically only eat the fat of their kill. From Polar Bears at Risk. Reproduced with permission from WWF© 2002 WWF-Norway. All rights reserved.
Based on Nybakken, James W. 2000 Marine Biology. An Ecological Approach. 5th Ed. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco. 516 pp (see Related Knowledge for more details) | | | | |
 | | | | | | | Title | Underwater Field Guide to Ross Island & McMurdo Sound, Antarctica
( WEBSITE )
| | Description | This Field Guide is intended to facilitate underwater or topside field identification from visual characters. Organisms were identified only from photographs (no specimen collection). Field Guide identifications are taken to the taxonomic level that is possible solely from photograph examination, with uncertainty indicated. The publications cited for each organism do not constitute a review on each species. To find out more about a species, start with the Field Guide citations and then search for additional citations through the NSF-supported Cold Regions Bibliography at http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/scitech/coldregions/welcome.html. Additional citations can usually be found in these commercially available indexing databases: Zoological Record, BIOSIS Previews, and Arctic & Antarctic Regions. | | Keywords | ANTARCTICA; FISH; MOLLUSKS; CRUSTACEA; MARINE MAMMALS; BIRDS | | Geography Keywords | ANTARCTICA; SOUTHERN OCEAN; SOUTHERN PACIFIC OCEAN | | Content Language(s) | English | | Web Address (URL) | http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/nsf/fguide/ | |
| Type of Website | Field guide | | Contact | | | Email | pbrueggeman@ucsd.edu | |
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1076 Topics - 5135 Related Knowledge - 2534 Members - 34 Editors |
