Ships with ‘hitch-hiking’ critters connect Antarctica to the rest of the world

Arlie McCarthy

doi:10.25250/thescbr.brk638

Ships with ‘hitch-hiking’ critters connect Antarctica to the rest of the world

Authors

Arlie McCarthy 1. Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg (HIFMB), Ammerländer Heerstraße 231, 26129 Oldenburg https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7423-4342

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25250/thescbr.brk638

Keywords:

Invasive species, Antarctica, biofouling, traffic networks, conservation

Abstract

Ships expose the Antarctica to many kinds of human impacts, including invasive species that cannot cross the rough seas of the Southern Ocean without help. To successfully conserve iconic Antarctic species and environments we need to know where non-native species might come from, and where to look for them in Antarctica