USING ANCIENT DNA TO PREDICT THE FUTURE

Antarctica appears sparse. Nothing but achromatic ice, glaciers and harsh conditions that only a fewer animals person adapted to past in.

This couldn’t beryllium further from nan truth.

The only sparse point astir Antarctica is our heavy deficiency of knowledge astir nan continent.

We don’t really cognize what lives there, what it looked for illustration successful nan past aliases really our changing ambiance could change Antarctica and style our future.

Until now.

ALL ABOARD

The Denman Glacier is 1 of nan astir distant and slightest studied places successful nan world. It’s located connected nan East Antarctic Peninsula, which is nan broadside of Antarctica closest to Australia.  

The glacier has retreated 5km successful nan past 20 years, which could person monolithic world repercussions.

If nan full Denman Glacier melted, world oversea levels would rise by 1.5 metres.

Unfortunately, we don’t cognize erstwhile these repercussions mightiness group in.  

So it’s nary astonishment that nan Denman Glacier was nan destination for nan first marine subject expedition of RSV Nuyina (pronounced noy-ee-nah).

Caption: The RSV Nuyina
Credit: Pete Harmsen/Commonwealth of Australia

The Australian Government calls Nuyina the “main lifeline to Australia’s Antarctic and sub-Antarctic investigation stations and nan cardinal level of our Antarctic and Southern Ocean technological research.”

Basically, it will thief Aussie scientists study and study astir Antarctica from nan comfortableness of a very costly ship.

The vessel was group up to alteration researchers to study everything from hydroacoustics and biology DNA to sediment cores and h2o chemistry.

Aboard Nuyina’s maiden 2-month investigation voyage were 65 scientists, including Professor Jan Strugnell.

“The Nuyina was a awesome ship,” says Jan. “It has awesome multidisciplinary capabilities and an unthinkable crew.” 

HUGE DIVERSITY

Jan is simply a professor of marine biology astatine James Cook University. This was her 4th travel to Antarctica but her first pinch nan Australian Antarctic Division.

Aboard, Jan was nan squad leader for 1 of nan divisions – Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF).

Caption: Professor Jan Strugnell
Credit: Pete Harmsen/Commonwealth of Australia

They were tasked pinch collecting a scope of animals that unrecorded connected nan seafloor – benthic invertebrates – astir nan Denman Glacier.

“It was really difficult to cognize precisely what we were going to cod because nan benthic life astir East Antarctica is really very poorly sampled,” says Jan.

In nan end, they collected animals from 14 different phyla, which is 1 of nan highest levels of taxonomic classification.

Jan says they collected a “huge diverseness of marine life”, including oversea cucumbers, oversea stars and brittle stars, arsenic good arsenic octopus, bivalves and snails.

Isopod

Scale worm (underside)

Scale worm

Brittle star

Sea spider

Sea pig

Image credits: Pete Harmsen/Commonwealth of Australia

“We really caught a really precocious number of oversea pigs, which are this peculiarly tiny small benignant of oversea cucumber, which [became] somewhat of a voyage mascot because everyone thought they were beautiful cute,” says Jan.

“Perhaps rather surprisingly, nan diverseness of marine life that lives connected nan seafloor astir Antarctica is really high.”

“We almost surely would person collected immoderate caller type – sometimes things we person nary thought what they are astatine all. There’s tons of caller discoveries yet to beryllium made.”

ANCESTRY.COM FOR ANIMALS

These specimens were collected utilizing a beam trawl.

“That collects animals from nan seafloor,” says Jan. Once connected board, Jan and nan SAEF squad worked successful nan laboratory to sphere them.

Caption: The beam trawler.
Credit: Pete Harmsen/Commonwealth of Australia

“We process them to cod samples for familial activity and past sphere them very cautiously truthful they tin beryllium utilized for early subject … pinch technologies we haven’t moreover discovered yet.

“It evidently costs a batch of money to cod these samples. Going to Antarctica is simply a monolithic endeavour, truthful we make judge they’re really good preserved for early work.”

The squad is presently undertaking a wide scope of familial testing.

“These benthic marine animals … person a genome successful each of their cells,” says Jan.

“That familial accusation not only provides nan blueprint that makes you you aliases makes a oversea spider a oversea spider, it’s besides this very important clip capsule that provides a grounds of each of its ancestors.

“We tin extract nan accusation wrong their genomes to … understand much astir evolutionary relationships.”

SEEING THE FUTURE

In a study published astatine nan extremity of 2023, Jan and her colleagues utilised familial worldly from an Antarctic octopus type to understand really Antarctica changed successful past climates.

“We tin look astatine populations each astir Antarctica and spot really good connected they are … and we tin moreover usage nan familial accusation from a azygous animal to spot really nan organization of each of its ancestors changed complete time,” says Jan.

Caption: Octopus (Paraledone sp.) akin to those utilized for DNA testing to understand Antarctica’s climate.
Credit: Pete Harmsen/Commonwealth of Australia

Using this familial material, nan squad tin understand nan history of different animal populations and their connectivity.

Then they tin tie conclusions astir what nan ambiance looked for illustration successful nan past and what it mightiness look for illustration successful nan future.

“DNA is simply a really powerful instrumentality that we tin look astatine not only coming time connectivity and relationships but look heavy down successful nan past. That tin beryllium really useful for telling america overmuch much astir nan early arsenic well,” says Jan.

Jan says nan squad intends to usage akin techniques to nan octopus study to understand really past climates person influenced nan recently collected species.

“This will springiness america a really bully denotation for what’s going to hap to their organization sizes into nan early and understand much astir nan impacts of that,” she says.

LOOK BACK TO LOOK FORWARD

Given nan melodramatic simplification of nan Denman Glacier successful nan past 2 decades, location is awesome interest for sea-level rise.

“This will person monolithic impacts, not [just] successful Antarctica but globally,” says Jan.

The familial accusation from nan collected specimens will beryllium instrumental successful decoding Antarctica’s past ambiance and its imaginable early movements.

Caption: Pancake ice
Credit: Pete Harmsen/Commonwealth of Australia

The squad astatine SAEF will beryllium capable to usage nan familial accusation to understand really populations person moved and astatine what times and nexus this to changes successful our past climate.

“This is nan first clip we’ve collected immoderate samples from this full region,” says Jan.

 “They’ll beryllium really useful to put successful nan discourse of Antarctica arsenic a full and understand really that area is connected.”

Jan, nan SAEF squad and nan full RSV Nuyina research unit are seeking to understand really changes to Antarctica will effect our early – each by looking to nan past.