Throughout the Quaternary, the continental‐based Antarctic ice sheets expanded and contracted repeatedly. Evidence suggests that during glacial maxima, grounded ice eliminated most benthic (bottom‐dwelling) fauna across the Antarctic continental shelf. However, paleontological and molecular evidence indicates most extant Antarctica benthic taxa have persisted in situ throughout the Quaternary. Where and how the Antarctic benthic fauna survived throughout repeated glacial maxima remain mostly hypothesised. If understood, this would provide valuable insights into the ecology and evolution of Southern Ocean biota over geological timescales. Here we synthesised and appraised recent studies and presented an approach to demonstrate how genetic data can be effective in identifying where and how Antarctic benthic fauna survived glacial periods. We first examined the geological and ecological evidence for how glacial periods influenced past species demography in order to provide testable frameworks for future studies. We outlined past ice‐free areas from Antarctic ice sheet reconstructions that could serve as glacial refugia and discussed how benthic fauna with pelagic or non‐pelagic dispersal strategies moved into and out of glacial refugia. We also reviewed current molecular studies and collated proposed locations of Southern Ocean glacial refugia on the continental shelf around Antarctica, in the deep sea, and around sub‐Antarctic islands. Interestingly, the proposed glacial refugia based on molecular data generally do not correspond to the ice‐free areas identified by Antarctic ice sheet reconstructions. The potential biases in sampling and in the choice of molecular markers in current literature are discussed, along with the future directions for employing testable frameworks and genomic methods in Southern Ocean molecular studies. Continued data syntheses will elucidate greater understanding of where and how Southern Ocean benthic fauna persisted throughout glacial periods and provide insights into their resilience against climate changes in the future.

中文翻译：

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在南大洋探测冰川避难所

在整个第四纪期间，以大陆为基础的南极冰盖反复膨胀和收缩。有证据表明，在冰川最大值期间，接地的冰消除了南极大陆架上的大多数底栖（底栖）动物群。然而，古生物学和分子证据表明，大多数现存的南极底栖生物分类群在整个第四纪都在原地存在。南极底栖动物群在重复的冰川最大值中在哪里以及如何幸存下来，大部分仍然是假设。如果理解，这将为南大洋生物群在地质时间尺度上的生态和演化提供有价值的见解。在这里，我们综合并评估了最近的研究，并提出了一种方法来证明遗传数据如何有效地确定南极底栖动物群在冰川时期的位置和方式。我们首先检查了冰川时期如何影响过去物种人口统计的地质和生态证据，以便为未来的研究提供可测试的框架。我们概述了过去南极冰盖重建中可用作冰川避难所的无冰区，并讨论了具有远洋或非远洋扩散策略的底栖动物群如何进出冰川避难所。我们还回顾了当前的分子研究，并整理了南极洲周围大陆架、深海和亚南极岛屿周围南大洋冰川避难所的建议位置。有趣的是，基于分子数据提出的冰川避难所通常与南极冰盖重建确定的无冰区不符。讨论了当前文献中采样和分子标记选择的潜在偏差，以及在南大洋分子研究中采用可测试框架和基因组方法的未来方向。持续的数据合成将有助于更好地了解南大洋底栖动物群在整个冰川时期的位置和方式，并深入了解它们在未来应对气候变化的能力。