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 …
Marine ecosystems
Understanding Antarctic and Arctic marine ecosystems by exploring biodiversity and resilience to environmental change is critical for making policy decisions that will lead to effective stewardship and sustainable management of marine resources. This strand of research combines existing long-term data with new field-based and experimental observations to explore the impact of environmental change on marine ecosystems.
CUPIDO
CUPIDO aims to address: what is the role of zooplankton in promoting the transport of plastic in the ocean?
and how this plastic transport interferes with zooplankton’s ability to store carbon in the deep ocean?
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 …
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 …
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 – Signy Island – Penguin monitoring
Three species of penguin breed on Signy Island: Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae), chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarcticus) and gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua). These species have contrasting breeding and foraging strategies and …
Higher Predators – Bird Island – Penguin monitoring
Two species of penguin breed on Bird Island: macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) and gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua). These species have contrasting breeding and foraging strategies and ranging behaviour. Gentoo penguins …
Higher Predators – Bird Island – Albatrosses and giant petrel monitoring
Four species of albatross breed in large numbers on Bird Island: wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans), black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophris), grey-headed albatross (T. chrysostoma) and light-mantled albatross (Phoebetria palpebrata). Although all …
Antarctic tipping points
1 June, 2023
Concern is rising about tipping points in the Antarctic region (Armstrong et al., 2022). Recent heatwaves, changes in the Southern Ocean, and a reduction in the extent of Antarctic sea …
Sailbuoy Ahoy! Uncrewed surface vessel launched in South Georgia
14 February, 2024
Scientists studying krill in the sub-Antarctic have successfully completed a three-day mission using a Sailbuoy uncrewed surface vessel (USV). This mission marks the first Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) approved …
Increased rainfall threatens UK sea urchins
12 February, 2024
Sea urchins exposed to diluted seawater for long periods show signs of physical deterioration, according to scientists from British Antarctic Survey, the University of Cambridge and the Scottish Association for …
Scientists count penguins on remote sub-Antarctic island
20 January, 2024
Researchers from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have carried out aerial surveys of the remote volcanic Zavodovski Island in the sub-Antarctic to count the largest penguin colony in the world. …
First Antarctic research mission on polar ship
20 November, 2023
A team of international researchers set sail on the RRS Sir David Attenborough today (20 November) to answer some of the big questions about how Antarctic ecosystems and sea ice …
BAS shortlisted for NERC’s 2023 Impact Awards
18 October, 2023
The shortlist has been announced for The Natural Environment Research Council’s (NERC) Impact Awards 2023. Four BAS projects have made the shortlist and commended list, ranging from biodiversity and ecology …
Tackling climate change and biodiversity loss together
21 April, 2023
Climate, biodiversity, and societal challenges are intrinsically linked and yet are usually viewed in isolation. A new review study, published in the journal Science this week (21st April 2023), focusses …
Microplastic found in Antarctic krill and salps
29 March, 2023
A new study led by researchers at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) discovered microplastics in krill (Euphausia superba), a small shrimp-like crustacean, and salps (Salpa thompsoni), a gelatinous marine invertebrate. The …
Drones survey wildlife populations in remote Sub-Antarctic island
17 November, 2022
Next generation fixed-wing drones, capable of operating autonomously beyond the standard visual line of sight, are creating datasets of major wildlife populations around South Georgia for long-term monitoring to aid …
Learning about the first animals from life at the poles
12 October, 2022
The amazing survival strategies of polar marine creatures might help to explain how the first animals on Earth could have evolved earlier than the oldest fossils suggest according to new …
New kit enables study of microplastics in the ocean
8 September, 2022
New equipment designed by British Antarctic Survey is helping scientists to study the impact of microplastics in the ocean. The Ocean Plastic Incubator Chamber (OPIC) exposes various types of plastics …