Cambridge, England -- British scientists have determined Antarctic limpets might not be able to survive global warming.

Compared with their temperate and tropical cousins, cold-blooded polar marine animals are incapable of fast growth, said Keiron Fraser of the British Antarctic Survey. And, until now, scientists assumed a lack of food in winter was the major limiting factor.

But Fraser said new studies of the protein-making abilities of limpets in both the sea around the BAS Antarctic station and in the laboratory aquarium reveal the animals cannot efficiently make proteins, which are the building blocks of growth.

"This is an important step forward in our understanding of the complex biodiversity of Antarctica's unique ecosystem," said Fraser. "Sea temperature is predicted to increase by around 2 degrees Celsius in the next 100 years. If cold-blooded Antarctic animals can't grow efficiently, or increase their growth rates, they are unlikely to be able to cope in warmer water, or compete with species that will inevitably move into the region as temperatures rise."

The research is detailed in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.