Ecosystem Spotlight: Antarctic Seas

Desolate Antarctica is the most uninhabited continent on Earth. Its barren ice fields are home to no large land animals and no plants. Those creatures that do inhabit the Antarctic continent, such as penguins and seals, depend on the ocean for sustenance, and it is in the ocean that the majority of Antarctic life is to be found. Unlike the Arctic, Antarctica is a solid landmass surrounded by ocean, albeit one divided into many large sub-continents. These are joined by huge ice sheets, underneath which dwells an ecosystem unlike anything else in the world.
The near-freezing temperatures of Antarctica's waters have forced many animals to evolve special strategies to cope with the cold. Whales and seals all have a thick layer of fat under their skin called blubber, while penguins have densely packed feathers that trap air and serve as a sort of "bubble-wrap" to keep out the cold (polar bears and sea otters, which live in the Arctic, have fur that does the same thing).
Creatures that stay in the cold ocean their whole lives have even more unique ways of surviving the cold. Many fish that live in Antarctica produce a naturally occurring antifreeze chemical in their blood to prevent it from freezing. These fish all belong to a single group, the icefishes, or Notothenioidei, which have come to be the dominant fish in the seas of Antarctica. However, they are by no means the only animals living there.
The clear, oxygen-rich water of the Antarctic ocean encourages invertebrates to grow to gigantic sizes. Giant starfish, over a foot across, swarm around holes in the ice, scavenging on scraps left by penguins and seals, and searching for dead fish and crustaceans. Isopods the size of mice--distant relatives of the familiar garden pillbug-- crawl along the seabed, eating whatever detritus they can find. These creatures are preyed on by other invertebrates, such as octopuses, which in turn are eaten by fish and by seals and whales. Even the smaller invertebrates are remarkable, including the only species of sea anemone to grow on icebergs.
The very largest of Antarctica's giant invertebrates--and the largest invertebrate on the planet-- is the colossal squid, which can grow up to forty feet in length and weigh in at half a ton. Never seen alive until 2007, the colossal squid has the largest eyes of any animal, measuring 11 inches across. Its tentacles are tipped with sharp hooks instead of suckers, which it uses to seize prey.
While a great deal of ink has justifiably been spilled over the melting of Antarctica's icecap, less attention has been paid to the threat faced by its marine ecosystem. As the planet is warmed, this ecosystem, adapted as it is to life in subzero temperatures, will be in grave danger.




Unique sea creatures like this jellyfish inhabit the cold ocean surrounding Antarctica. But as the icecaps melt and the oceans are warmed, how safe is their home?

Vive La France?

As of today, the United States is no longer a participant in the Paris Climate Accords, an agreement signed on April 22nd, 2016 to collectively limit greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2020. Over 195 nations signed the Accords, and initially the United States was one of them. It was rightfully hailed as one of the great accomplishments of environmentalism.
However, even before he assumed the Presidency, Donald Trump was a staunch opponent of the Paris Climate Accords. He held the belief--a belief many other CEOs of large companies tend to share-- that a regulation of greenhouse gas emissions would force companies to not be as productive as they might otherwise be. While not intending to debate the merits of these claims, it should be pointed out that in the past year alone, more jobs have been opened up in solar power and other renewable power sources than in nonrenewable power sources such as coal.
Today, the decision was made. Greenhouse gas emissions in the United States will no longer be regulated by the Accords. The potential effects of this could be devastating. To put it another way, China--the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases-- did sign the Accords, and is ramping up its production of wind turbines and solar panels. How ironic, then, that Trump has called global warming "a hoax invented by the Chinese", when they are clearly quite worried about it!
During his speech in which he formally withdrew from the Paris Climate Accords, Trump asserted that "this agreement is less about the climate and more countries gaining a financial advantage to the States." Needless to say, this is false. The Accords are not intended to give the participant nations economical advantages over one another--at least, not the nations that actually participate. Ironically, by withdrawing from the Accords, Trump has actually made the US more vulnerable to foreign competition, not less. Other countries' clean energy markets will continue to produce new jobs, while the US will continue wasting money on its obsolete fossil fuel industry.
But what can be done? Can we trust the companies themselves, on whose behalf Trump exited the Paris Climate Accords, to regulate their own greenhouse gas emissions? 70% of adult US citizens support the Paris Accords, and many of them are lobbying for companies to regulate their own emissions. Time will tell if they are successful.