# name
Chemical Interactions in Antarctic Marine Benthic Ecosystems

# metadata.dc.description.abstract[].value
Antarctic marine ecosystems are immersed in an isolated, relatively constant environment
where the organisms inhabiting their benthos are mainly sessile suspension feeders. For
these reasons, physical and chemical biotic interactions play an essential role in structuring
these marine benthic communities (Dayton et al., 1974; Orejas et al., 2000). These interactions
may include diverse strategies to avoid predation (e.g. Iken et al., 2002), competition for
space or food (e.g. Bowden et al., 2006) and avoiding fouling (e.g. Rittschof, 2001; Peters et
al., 2010). For instance, in the marine benthos, one of the most extended effective strategies
among sessile soft-bodied organisms is chemical defense, mediated by several bioactive
natural products mostly considered secondary metabolites (e.g. Paul et al., 2011). The study
of the “chemical network” (chemical ecology interactions) structuring the communities
provides information about the ecology and biology of the involved species, the function
and the structure of the community and, simultaneously, it may lead to the discovery of
new compounds useful to humans for their pharmacological potential (e.g. Avila, 1995;
Bhakuni, 1998; Munro et al., 1999; Faulkner, 2000; Lebar et al., 2007; Avila et al., 2008). In the
last three decades, the study of marine chemical ecology has experienced great progress,
thanks to the new technological advances for collecting and studying marine samples, and
the possibility of identification of molecules with smaller amounts of compounds (e.g. Paul
et al., 2006, 2011; Blunt et al., 2011).

# metadata.dc.rights[].value
cc by (c) Figuerola Balañá, Blanca et al., 2012

# metadata.dc.source[].value
Llibres / Capítols de llibre (Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals)

# metadata.dc.title[].value
Chemical Interactions in Antarctic Marine Benthic Ecosystems