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.

Spatial Segregation of Seabirds at South Georgia

Seabirds are amongst the most globally threatened birds, often as a consequence of incidental mortality (bycatch) in fisheries [1] [2]. At South Georgia, wandering albatrosses have declined since the 1970s [3], and are listed …


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 …


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, …



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 …


PRESS RELEASE: Krill’s key role in oceans

4 July, 2011

Antarctic krill help to fertilise Southern Ocean with iron A new discovery reveals that the shrimp-like creature at the heart of the Antarctic food chain could play a key role …


PRESS RELEASE: Deep sea mystery solved

13 June, 2011

New discovery – Copepods share “diver’s weight belt” technique with whales A deep-sea mystery has been solved with the discovery that the tiny 3 mm long marine animals, eaten by …


PRESS RELEASE: Island haven for sea life

24 May, 2011

Study reveals most biologically rich island in Southern Ocean The first comprehensive study of sea creatures around the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia reveals a region that is richer in …


PRESS RELEASE: Census of Marine Life

4 October, 2010

Event: A Decade of Discovery: Census of Marine Life — News Conference Venue: Royal Institution, London Date: Monday 4 October: 12.30 – 16.30 Findings from a major international investigation into …


PRESS RELEASE: How marine animals crossed continent

31 August, 2010

Marine animals suggest evidence for a trans-Antarctic seaway A tiny marine filter-feeder, that anchors itself to the sea bed, offers new clues to scientists studying the stability of the West …


PRESS RELEASE: Diversity of marine species detailed

18 February, 2010

Understanding global climate change through new breakthroughs in Polar research The latest findings from research on Antarctica’s rich marine life are presented this week at the American Association for the …