0100497644

open access

Version of Record

Climate Change Impacts on Antarctic Fish Diversity: A Circumpolar Perspective From eDNA Metabarcoding Assessment

English (英語)

Diversity and Distributions

31(7)

e70053

John Wiley & Sons

2025-07

2025-09-24

Aim: Recent climate-driven changes in the Antarctic marine environment, marked by regional differences between West and East Antarctica, may alter ecosystem dynamics. As key components of the food web, fish might reflect these changes. This study examines fish biodiversity patterns across four typical Antarctic seas by integrating eDNA analysis with bottom trawl surveys, focusing on biodiversity shifts and range alterations in response to varying levels of climate change exposure. Location: Four ecologically distinct Antarctic regions: The Adjacent Waters of Antarctic Peninsula (AAP), the Amundsen Sea-Bellingshausen Sea (ASBS), the Prydz Bay-Cooperation Sea (PBCS), and the Cosmonaut Sea (CS). Methods: During the 37th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition, we integrated eDNA metabarcoding (from both pelagic and benthic water layers) with bottom trawl surveys across four regions (AAP, ASBS, PBCS, and CS) to characterise regional fish community. Results: Environmental DNA metabarcoding and trawl surveys detected 40 and 27 Antarctic fish species, respectively. Environmental DNA proved effective in complementing traditional methods and capturing early life stages, especially with a refined local reference database. Species belonging to the suborder Notothenioidei dominated across all surveyed regions. Ten species exhibited range extensions beyond previously documented distributions, likely reflecting historical data gaps, with the exception of Patagonotothen sp. Main Conclusions: eDNA metabarcoding showed potential for monitoring Antarctic ichthyoplankton. Fish diversity in the four studied seas aligns with the general pattern in the Southern Ocean, while ASBS was identified as a previously overlooked fish diversity hotspot. The southward detection of Patagonotothen sp. may signal climate-driven shifts in species distribution. Future research integrating eDNA with interdisciplinary approaches holds promise for advancing the monitoring of climate change impacts on Antarctic marine ecosystems.

range shift

学術雑誌論文

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.