Climate change in the UKOTs an overview of the ... - JNCC - Defra

Country Impacts
South
Georgia and
South
Sandwich
Islands
Table 1. Country impacts – Sub-Antarctic
An increase in sea temperature could lead to a movement or loss of
the fish stocks that support fisheries and many of the seabirds and
marine animals found in South Georgia, such as albatross, prions,
petrels, penguins and seals.
Sea level rise could threaten beaches where fur seals and elephant
seals breed and the tussac grass communities where the endemic
South Georgia pipit (Anthus antarcticus) lives and breeds.
Glaciers currently play an important role in containing rats, mice and
reindeer. At present rats occupy 65 per cent of the coastline; mice are
restricted to one area, and reindeer to two. Glacial retreat would
increase the habitat of these invasive species, which would endanger
the pipit and lead to loss of habitat for certain burrowing petrel
species.
Source: D. Christie, Environment Officer, Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Implications and possible future
impacts
• The Southern Ocean’s carbon absorptive
capacity has been weakened since
1981; changes in ocean temperatures
currents and sea ice could further affect
its capacity to absorb carbon dioxide.
• Most environmental change has taken
place in the Antarctic peninsula where
climate change has been largest. Since
the 1970s, the population of krill, the tiny
shrimp-like creatures that are major part
of the diet of many Antarctic species,
including whales, penguins and seals,
has been in decline and this is believed
to be linked to warming waters. With the
decline of krill, an important link in the
Antarctic food chain is being broken.
• The Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis
adeliae), which is well adapted to sea
ice conditions, is in decline and is being
replaced by open water species, such
as the Chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis
antarctica) (Fraser et al., 1992 cited in
BAS, 2007).
3.2.2 Bermuda
Observed change
• There has been an increase in the frequency
and magnitude of coral disease
and bleaching events over the last three
decades.
• Data from the Bermuda Atlantic Timeseries
Study station show carbon
dioxide levels at the ocean surface of
the Sargasso Sea southeast of the
Bermuda Triangle are rising at about
the same rate as atmospheric carbon
dioxide. The change is even greater at
deeper levels: in the waters between
250 and 450 m deep, carbon dioxide
levels are rising at nearly twice the rate
of the surface waters (Glick, 2004).
Implications and possible future
impacts
• Bermuda’s mangrove forests are threatened
by salt water inundation due to
rising sea levels. Climate change is contributing
to the death of mangroves at
the Hungry Bay Mangrove Swamp, a
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