Heated steam from volcanoes could have helped a number of plant and animal species survive ice ages.
The findings could help researchers gain insight into how animals adapt to climate change, an Australian National University news release reported.
"Volcanic steam can melt large ice caves under the glaciers, and it can be tens of degrees warmer in there than outside. Caves and warm steam fields would have been great places for species to hang out during ice ages," Doctor Ceridwen Fraser of Australian National University, said in the news release. "We can learn a lot from looking at the impacts of past climate change as we try to deal with the accelerated change that humans are now causing."
The study was conducted in Antarctica, but the new information could hold clues as to how species have survived in other regions during these icy periods. The 16 volcanoes present in Antarctica during the ice age 20,000 years ago are still present today.
The research team looked at mosses, lichens and bugs that are still present in the region; 60 percent of these plants and creatures cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
"They have clearly not arrived on the continent recently, but must have been there for millions of years. How they survived past ice ages - the most recent of which ended less than 20,000 years ago - has long puzzled scientists," Professor Peter Convey of the British Antarctic Survey, said in the news release.
"The closer you get to volcanoes, the more species you find. This pattern supports our hypothesis that species have been expanding their ranges and gradually moving out from volcanic areas since the last ice age," Doctor Aleks Terauds from the Australian Antarctic Division said in the news release.
The researchers hope these findings will help aid conservation efforts in the Antarctic region.
"Knowing where the 'hotspots' of diversity are will help us to protect them as human-induced environmental changes continue to affect Antarctica," Professor Chown said.
