Editing IPCC:AR6/SROCC/Chapter-3 (section)

===== 3.2.3.2.2 Benthic communities =====

Carbon uptake and storage by Antarctic benthic communities is predicted to increase with sea ice losses, because across-shelf growth gains from longer algal blooms outweigh ice scour mortality in the shallows (Barnes, 2017 <sup>[[#fn:r716|716]]</sup> ). Bentho-pelagic coupling and vertical energy flux will also influence Southern Ocean ecosystem responses to climate change (Jansen et al., 2017 <sup>[[#fn:r717|717]]</sup> ). Benthic communities in shallow water habitats mostly consist of dark-adapted invertebrates and rely on sea ice to create low-light marine environments. Increases in the amount of light reaching the shallow seabed under climate change may result in ecological regime shifts, in which invertebrate-dominated communities are replaced by macroalgal beds (Clark et al., 2015 <sup>[[#fn:r718|718]]</sup> ; Clark et al., 2017 <sup>[[#fn:r719|719]]</sup> ) ( ''low confidence'' ) (Table 6.1). Griffiths et al. (2017a) <sup>[[#fn:r720|720]]</sup> modelled distribution changes for 963 benthic invertebrate species in the Southern Ocean under RCP8.5 for 2099. Their results suggest that 79% of Antarctica’s endemic species will face a reduction in suitable temperature habitat (an average 12% reduction) over the current century. Predicted reductions in the number of species are most pronounced for the West Antarctic Peninsula and the Scotia Sea region (Griffiths et al., 2017a <sup>[[#fn:r720|720]]</sup> ).

<div id="section-3-2-3-2-southern-ocean-block-4"></div>

<span id="fish-1"></span>