The glacier melting process is an invisible barrier to the development of Antarctic subtidal macroalgal assemblages

Ecological macroalgal succession in glacier-free areas has remained at the pioneer seral stage despite six decades of glacial retreat at Marian Cove, King George Island, Antarctica. With the rapid melting of glaciers in the West Antarctic Peninsula owing to global warming, a massive amount of meltwater is flowing into the coast, creating marine environmental gradients such as turbidity, water temperature, and salinity. This study examined the spatial and vertical distributions (up to a depth of 25 m) of macroalgal assemblages from nine sites in Maxwell Bay and Marian Cove. The macroalgal assemblages were analyzed for six sites located 0.2, 0.8, 1.2, 2.2, 3.6, and 4.1 km away from the glacier, including three sites where the glacial retreat history of Marian Cove could be estimated. To investigate the effects of meltwater, differences in the coastal environment were analyzed based on data collected from five stations located 0.4, 0.9, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 km away from the glacier. The macroalgal assemblages and marine environment were divided into two groups—inside and outside the cove—based on the region 2–3 km away from the glacier, which has been ice-free since 1956 and shows significant differences. In the three sites near the glacier front, Palmaria decipiens was dominant, and three to four species were distributed, whereas in the two sites outside the cove, nine and 14 species appeared, respectively, similar to the assemblage of the other three sites in Maxwell Bay. Palmaria decipiens, a representative opportunistic pioneer species in Antarctica, is dominant because of its physiological adaptation despite the high turbidity and low water temperature of the glacier front. This study shows that macroalgal assemblages in Antarctic fjord-like coves respond to glacial retreat and are valuable in understanding the macroalgal succession in Antarctica.