Natural disturbance events are expected to increase with climate change, particularly in polar regions where reduced winter sea-ice has increased iceberg movement and seafloor scouring. Here, we build a food web model for a near-shore benthic ecosystem along the West Antarctic Peninsula to evaluate responses to iceberg scouring and future impacts. The food web structure was consistent with other Antarctic benthic food webs, with low trophic level and connectance and a high degree of omnivory. Chronically disturbed shallow (5 m) habitats had lower food web complexity than deeper (10-25 m) habitats. Complexity declined to a minimum after 2 years of disturbance before recovering gradually, possibly due to the influx of mobile scavengers immediately post scour. We identified highly connected species, such as the starfish Odontaster validus, that may be key to maintaining resilience in Antarctic coastal shallows under increasing climate change.

Link: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141113626003764