Black-browed Albatross Juvenile Tracking
Until the last decade, South Georgia held the third largest population of black-browed albatrosses at any island group (Phillips et al. 2016) [4]. However, assuming trends at surveyed sites are …
Conservation ecology
Chinstrap Penguin Tracking
The commercial fishery for Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) operates in the southwest Atlantic, in particular along the west Antarctic Peninsula, and over the shelf breaks of the South Shetland Islands, …
Bycatch risk of wandering albatrosses from radar detection
Wandering albatrosses are threatened by bycatch. Populations at South Georgia have declined catastrophically since the 1960s due to incidental mortality (bycatch) in fisheries (Pardo et al. 2017) [1]. This led …
South Georgia Right Whale project – Whale Tracking
The British Antarctic Survey whale research team at King Edward Point have been studying whale movements and patterns of habitat use in South Georgia waters. South Georgia was at the …
Gentoo Penguin Tracking
A fishery for Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) operates over the shelf breaks of the South Orkney, South Shetland and South Georgia archipelagos [8]. Krill is an important food source for …
Grey-headed Albatross Juvenile Tracking
The grey-headed albatross is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because of a decline since the 1970s of the largest global breeding population, which is …
Protecting Marine Ecosystems in the South Atlantic
The food security and economies of Tristan da Cunha and St Helena, British overseas territories in the South Atlantic, are heavily reliant on marine harvestable resources and, to a lesser …
Larsen-C Benthos
On 12 July 2017, the Larsen-C Ice Shelf calved one of the largest iceberg originating from the Antarctic Peninsula ever recorded. As iceberg A68 moves north, it leaves behind an …
Higher Predators – Long-Term Science
The British Antarctic Survey carries out Long Term Science that measures changes in Antarctic ecosystems and seeks to understand the underlying drivers and processes. Marine predators are sensitive to changes …
SO-AntEco Biodiversity
In this collaboration with the Natural History Museum (NHM) and the University of Liverpool, we have developed novel methods for using existing data to contribute to marine conservation and fisheries …
Krill fishing and conservation in the Southern Ocean
30 June, 2022
Introduction Antarctic krill, a shrimp-like crustacean that can grow to 6cm long, is a food source for fish, whales, seals, penguins, and other seabirds. Krill is harvested by a commercial …
Marine Protected Areas
30 June, 2022
What is a Marine Protected Area? Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) support conservation. They are defined areas of the sea that have some level of protection for the species and ecosystems …
Penguins benefit from extended maritime zone
15 January, 2021
Gentoo penguins are benefiting from a newly enlarged no-fishing zone (known as a No-Take Zone NTZ) around the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia following British Antarctic Survey (BAS) tracking research …
Expedition to map biodiversity in Atlantic deep sea
8 January, 2021
A British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientist departs Germany today (8 January 2021) onboard the research vessel SONNE to study the diversity of marine organisms in the Atlantic deep sea. Dr …
Humpback whales return to South Georgia
5 November, 2020
A new study shows the welcome return of humpback whales to the waters around the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia after a century of commercial whaling decimated their populations. The …
Scientists discover new penguin colonies from space
5 August, 2020
A new study using satellite mapping technology reveals there are nearly 20% more emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica than was previously thought. The results provide an important benchmark for monitoring …
Migratory secrets of recovering whale species
20 May, 2020
Scientists have discovered where a whale species that feeds around the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia breeds during the winter months. This understanding of where the animals migrate from will …
Plastic Pollution reaching Antarctica
28 April, 2020
Food wrapping, fishing gear and plastic waste continue to reach the Antarctic. Two new studies into how plastic debris is reaching sub-Antarctic islands are published in the journal Environment International. …
Krill’s influence on CO2 and global climate
18 October, 2019
A new study involving British Antarctic Survey researchers highlights the influence of krill (Euphausia superba) on atmospheric carbon levels. It is published in the journal Nature Communications today (18th October …
Study recommends special protection of emperor penguins
9 October, 2019
In a new study published this week (Wednesday 9 October) in the journal Biological Conservation, an international team of researchers recommends the need for additional measures to protect and conserve …
Antarctic krill use ‘hotspots’ for their young
25 July, 2019
New research, published this week (24 July 2019) in the journal PLOS ONE, shows how Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), a key species in the Southern Ocean food web, choose different …
Fishing hotspots show where sub-Antarctic seabirds at risk
22 May, 2019
A new study highlights that sub-Antarctic seabirds are most at risk from unsustainable fishing during the southern hemisphere winter and in the south Atlantic and Southwest Indian Oceans. The link …