Ecosystems team

Our ambition

The scientific goal of our team is to understand the combined impacts of global climate-driven change and commercial fishing on polar marine ecosystems. Our research will provide fundamental insight into the response of species and ecosystems to change and enable us to detect and project their responses to future change. Our research is critical to the development of conservation and ecosystem-based management strategies and will contribute to the development of Government policy.

BAS biologist Dr Kate Barlow studies macaroni penguins in the 'little mac' study colony at Fairy point, Bird Island, South Georgia — BAS biologist Dr Kate Barlow studies macaroni penguins in the ‘little mac’ study colony at Fairy point, Bird Island, South Georgia

Our research is focused on understanding the effects of change on whole ecosystems from microbes to whales and from local to circumpolar ecosystems. Our two research groups (Pelagic Ecosystems and Higher Predators and Conservation) focus on the Scotia Sea/West Antarctic Peninsula region, which is affected by both rapid climate-driven changes and major fishing activities. Comparative studies of Arctic and Southern Oceans will also advance our understanding of the Polar Regions, their influence on global cycles and ecosystems, their response to change, and methods for their effective conservation. Our innovative multidisciplinary approach and international leadership and partnerships will ensure that we continue to strengthen this area of globally important research.

Team priorities

Science

Understanding the life-cycles of polar marine species. To develop a quantitative understanding of the life-cycles, distribution and abundance of key species.
The structure and functioning of polar ocean ecosystems. To understand the biological-physical-chemical interactions that determine the structure and functioning of ecosystems from local to circumpolar scales from a food web perspective.
Impacts of variability and change. To understand the multiple drivers of change and the response of individual species and whole ecosystems.
Modelling ecosystems and future change. To develop models of key species and ecosystems for projecting the impacts of future change on polar ocean ecosystems.
Fisheries and conservation in areas of rapid change. To use our understanding of the interactive effects of harvesting and climate-driven change to develop sustainable management and conservation approaches.

Technology, innovation and training

Conduct large-scale multidisciplinary field experiments from ships and land-bases and develop and deploy advanced technology and autonomous systems for biological-oceanographic and ecological studies.
Develop innovative multidisciplinary approaches, encompassing genetics, biology and ecology of marine organisms (from plankton to the highest predators), biogeochemistry, oceanography, fisheries and climate science.
Targeted numerical modelling studies and analyses of long-term data series.

Influencing and leading international programmes

Work with national and international partners in Antarctic and Arctic research, including the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), the Arctic Council and the Ecosystems Studies of Sub-Arctic Sea (ESSAS) programme.
Work in partnership with international partners and institutions to gain deeper understanding of human impacts (e.g. fisheries) on polar ecosystems, particularly through the Commission for Conservation for Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in the Southern Ocean.
Lead the international Integrating Climate and Ecosystem Dynamics in the Southern Ocean programme (ICED) linking ecosystem and climate studies, developing links to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
Through our role in ICED, input polar perspectives into global science programmes, including the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme’s (IGBP) Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research (IMBER) programme, the Scientific Committee on Ocean Research (SCOR) and Future Earth.

Stakeholder engagement

Produce essential scientific advice to underpin the development of UK government (Foreign and Commonwealth Office, FCO, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, DEFRA) and international conservation and management policies for the sustainable management of fisheries and human impacts in polar ocean ecosystems
Provide critical scientific evidence and advice to shape international policy development within the Commission for Conservation for Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)
Inform the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services (IPBES)

Public engagement in research

Disseminate our findings via publication in the highest-impact journals, through presentations in leading national and international forums
Participate in educational, media, business and stakeholder engagement activities.

Mark Belchier

Science Manager, South Georgia

Rachel Cavanagh

Ecosystem Scientist

Michael Dunn

Higher Predator Ecologist

Sophie Fielding

Zooplankton Ecologist

Jaume Forcada

Marine Mammal Leader

Susie Grant

Marine Biogeographer

Simeon Hill

Fisheries Modeller Leader/WPM

Jennifer Jackson

Molecular Phylogeneticist

Nadine Johnston

Ecosystems Scientist

Cecilia Liszka

Zooplankton Ecologist

Clara Manno

Pelagic Marine Ecologist

Eugene Murphy

Science Leader

Richard Phillips

Seabird Ecologist Foodweb

Norman Ratcliffe

Seabird Ecologist

Ryan Saunders

Fish Ecologist

Iain Staniland

Marine Mammal Ecologist

Gabriele Stowasser

Marine Ecologist

Geraint Tarling

Zooplankton Ecologist/WPM

Sally Thorpe

Ecological Modeller

Phil Trathan

Predators in Ecosystems/WPM

Claire Waluda

Data Analysis CCAMLR

Andy Wood

Marine Predator Ecologist

Anna Belcher

Ecological Biogeochemist

Science-Policy Challenges in Polar Conservation and Management

The British Antarctic Survey and the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI) are convening a series of half day workshops focused on the science-policy interaction within highly topical conservation and management issues. …

Skua monitoring at Rothera

The small population of south polar skuas (up to 25 pairs) at Rothera Point has been studied since the late 1990s. The initial intention was to monitor possible impacts of …

Modelling Movement of Antarctic Krill

The MMAK project is using state-of-the-art ocean-sea ice models to improve our understanding of processes that influence the distribution of krill in the South Orkney Islands region.

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 …

Building data resources for managing the South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands Marine Protected Area

The South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) Marine Protected Area (MPA) was established by the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in 2012, to ensure the …

Scotia Sea open-ocean biological laboratories

Sustained ocean observing programme

POETS-WCB

The main deliverable of the Western Core Box (WCB) is a consistent unique time series of mesoscale distribution and abundance of macro-zooplankton and micronekton, and an understanding of the physical …

Wildlife from Space

Many populations of wildlife are remote inaccessible or difficult to monitor. The advent of sub-metre, Very-High-Resolution satellite imagery may enable us study these animals in a much more efficient way. …

COMICS

Investigating the twilight zone The four-year COMICS project, is led by the National Oceanography Centre, is a collaboration between the British Antarctic Survey and the universities of Queen Mary London, …

KRILLBASE

KRILLBASE is a data rescue and compilation project which aims to improve the availability of information on two of the Southern Ocean’s most important zooplankton taxa: Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) …

Continuous Plankton Recorder

Contemporary research has shown that the Southern Ocean is warming. Summer surface temperatures have risen by more than 1 degree Centigrade in the last 80 years and a strong upper-layer …

Krill Hotspots

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) are a key component of the food chain throughout much of the Southern Ocean. These small, shrimp-like animals occur in dense swarms, but their distribution is …

White-chinned Petrel Tracking

The white-chinned petrel is the most common bird species recorded as fisheries bycatch in the Southern Ocean [1]. Although currently listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, limited population trend data …

Oceanographic models for the Scotia Sea

Development of regional models to examine the detailed oceanography of island shelves and surrounding regions.

SONA

The Southern Ocean Network of Acoustics (SONA) represents a group of scientific institutes and industrial partners who have united to measure an under-sampled component of the ecosystem – the mid-trophic …

Long term monitoring of plastics

This long-term study monitors the impact of marine plastics and other debris on breeding seabirds at Bird Island. Researchers have monitored the levels of marine plastics and other material from …

Tracking Guillemots with Project LOMVIA

11 July, 2019 by Anne-Sophie Bonnet-Lebrun

The Project LOMVIA team continue their work tracking guillemots of the remote cliff of Látrabjarg, Iceland. Post-doctoral researcher Dr Anne-Sophie Bonnet-Lebrun explains more. Tagging and tracking seabirds Our fieldwork is …

Carrying the PRIDE message to the ends of the earth

5 July, 2019 by Huw Griffiths

Huw Griffiths is a polar research scientist with the British Antarctic Survey. He helped establish the Pride in Polar Research network, formed by Arctic and Antarctic researchers to bring together the …

Tracking seabird species in Iceland

27 June, 2019 by Norman Ratcliffe

After the initial reconnaissance expedition in 2018, this June Project LOMVIA – part of the NERC Changing Arctic Ocean Programme begins in earnest (read more about last year’s work here). …

Monitoring penguins in the South Atlantic

25 October, 2018 by Norman Ratcliffe

Norman Ratcliffe, a seabird biologist at British Antarctic Survey (BAS), studies the biology of seabirds and how this is impacted by climate change. Read this blog to find out about …

Fur seals in the Falklands – Part 3

11 October, 2018 by Kayleigh Jones

Kayleigh Jones, a seal biologist at British Antarctic Survey, travelled to the Falkland Islands to spend 6 weeks studying South American fur seals. This blog describes how the team studied …

Fur seals in the Falklands – Part 2

10 October, 2018 by Kayleigh Jones

Kayleigh Jones, a seal biologist at British Antarctic Survey, travelled to the Falkland Islands to spend 6 weeks studying South American fur seals. Read on to find out about camp …

Fur seals in the Falklands – Part 1

9 October, 2018 by Kayleigh Jones

Kayleigh Jones, a seal biologist at British Antarctic Survey, travelled to the Falkland Islands to spend 6 weeks studying South American fur seals. Read on to find out about her …

ISLAND SCIENCE: Living in Harmony

24 April, 2018 by Victoria Warwick-Evans

Four people, two tents, a lot of smelly penguins and boil-in-the-bag army rations. That pretty much sums up life at Harmony Point, Nelson Island, South Shetland Islands during January and …

A fishy business around South Georgia

9 March, 2017 by Mark Belchier

In this blog Dr Mark Belchier from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) explains why a team of experts visits King Edward Point biennially to carry out a survey of the fish …

Signy Island: Water and Ice

17 February, 2017 by BAS Communications

I wish I could tell you how dramatically isolated we feel here – how the expanse of an ocean that swirls the entire circumference of the planet and stands between …

Shedding light on lanternfish

25 January, 2017 by Geraint Tarling

By Dr Geraint Tarling Lanternfish are found in many of the world’s oceans and get their name from the numerous photophores (light organs) that occur all over their bodies. Also …

Black-browed Albatross colony (Thalassarche melanophrys) at Colony Q1 on Bird Island. Black-browed Albatrosses feed on Krill, fish and squid and tend to forage around the edge of the continental shelf of South Georgia.

ANTARCTIC BLOG: Typical week at Bird Island Station

10 June, 2016 by Timothy Morley

Tim Morley, Zoological Field Assistant at Bird Island, shares a typical week at Bird Island Research Station as he prepares for midwinter…. With many of our species finishing breeding for …

SHIP BLOG: Heading for home

31 March, 2016 by Susie Grant

The ship’s science labs have all been packed up and cleaned, kit boxes stowed in the container, cargo paperwork finished and cruise reports written. The SO-AntEco team is ready to …

SHIP BLOG: Science Week questions answered from the Southern Ocean

23 March, 2016 by Susie Grant

Last week was UK Science Week, and we asked schools and anyone else who had burning questions about the Antarctic deep sea to send them to us here on the …

ANTARCTIC BLOG: The many “hats” of a polar scientist

17 March, 2016 by Harriet Clewlow

Life on Signy Island has been pretty hectic for the last couple of weeks with multiple ship visits, saying goodbye to old colleagues, welcoming new base personnel and, in between, …

Search and Rescue on Bird Island

23 February, 2016 by Jerry Gillham

Bird Island Research Station has a small staff team; no more than 10 in summer and just four over winter. We have no doctor on station though all staff receives …

Life on the sub Antarctic island of South Georgia

19 February, 2016 by Jamie Coleman

Life on the sub Antarctic Island of South Georgia working for BAS is an amazing experience. South Georgia has the perfect combination of spectacular landscape and incredible wildlife. We have millions …

ANTARCTIC BLOG: Signy season gets underway!

12 February, 2016 by Alex Taylor

Despite being one of BAS’s smallest stations, I would argue that Signy is one of the most remote. Situated in the South Orkney Islands, at a relatively northerly 60 degrees …

ANTARCTIC BLOG: Exploring an island abundant with wildlife

2 February, 2016 by James Robbins

Bird Island has undergone several changes since the last diary entry in November. The summer breeding season is in full swing, and in some cases is starting to quieten down …

ANTARCTIC BLOG: Breeding season begins on Bird Island

10 November, 2015 by Alastair Wilson

October is another busy month for bird work, with the feathered residents of Bird Island all returning and starting to breed. Almost all of the Northern giant petrels are now …

ANTARCTIC BLOG: Busy month for leopard seal sightings!

27 October, 2015 by Sian Tarrant

Leopard seal peak The penultimate month of the lep round has been by far the most exciting. September has been the busiest month yet for leopard seal sightings. It has …

View of Bird Island Research Station from Wanderer ridge with Wandering Albatross in the foreground

ANTARCTIC BLOG: Leopard seals, wanderer chicks and…superheroes?!

22 September, 2015 by Lucy Quinn

When I last wrote a web diary, back in April, it was at the end of the summer season and the first few intrepid weeks of winter. It’s hard to …

Wandering albatross pair, nesting on Bird Island, South Georgia

Bird Island Diary — June 2010

30 June, 2010 by BAS Bloggers

by Claudia Mischler, Albatross Field Assistant June here on the little island was a fantastic month. We finally got a nice thick snow layer shortly before mid-winter. The white stuff …

Stranded whales detected from space

17 October, 2019

A new technique for analysing satellite images may help scientists detect and count stranded whales from space. Researchers tested a new detection method using Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite images …

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 …

Antarctic species in the face of a changing ocean

17 June, 2019

A new study reveals how marine life around Antarctica will fare in an ocean which has declining levels of oxygen. Writing in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society …

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 …

“Catastrophic” breeding failure at one of world’s largest emperor penguin colonies

25 April, 2019

Researchers at British Antarctic Survey have discovered “catastrophic” breeding failure at one of world’s largest emperor penguin colonies.

Krill swarms responsible for ‘hidden’ carbon storage

21 February, 2019

Large krill swarms in the Southern Ocean could help remove additional carbon from the atmosphere, in a way that is currently ‘hidden’ in global models. The new study is published …

Antarctic krill population contracts southward as polar oceans warm

21 January, 2019

The population of Antarctic krill, the favourite food of many whales, penguins, fish and seals, shifted southward during a recent period of warming in their key habitat, new research shows. …

New funding uses seabirds as sentinels of South Atlantic

21 January, 2019

British Antarctic Survey scientist Professor Richard Phillips has been awarded funding to use newly developed radar-detecting tags to track the interactions between wandering albatrosses and fishing vessels in the South …

Seabird populations on Antarctic Peninsula unexpected

5 December, 2018

Results of a new study on Antarctic seabirds shows a larger percentage of their populations inhabit important nesting sites around Ryder Bay, close to British Antarctic Survey’s Rothera Station than …

Watching whales from space

1 November, 2018

Scientists have used detailed high-resolution satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies’ DigitalGlobe, to detect, count and describe four different species of whales. Reported this week in the journal Marine Mammal …

Scientists join policy makers to discuss conservation

22 October, 2018

BAS marine researchers join nearly 300 international delegates at the annual meeting of the Convention on the Conservation or Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) beginning in Hobart today. For the …

Study of penguin colonies at Antarctic island shows decline

11 October, 2018

Results from a 21-year study into the breeding success of gentoo penguins at a well-known tourist site in Antarctica, reveal a 25% reduction in breeding pairs and a decrease of …

State of the Polar Oceans report published

18 July, 2018

Report published July 2018

Science meetings on conservation of Southern Ocean

2 July, 2018

Science meetings of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) take place over the next two weeks (starting 2 July 2018) at the Cambridge Headquarters of …

In old age, efficiency is key to successful parenting

22 June, 2018

Old albatrosses that are more efficient at finding food during migration are more likely to successfully raise young, new research shows. A study led by the British Antarctic Survey, in …

New insight into an enigmatic Antarctic apex predator

5 June, 2018

Scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have, for the first time, tracked the lives of leopard seals as they migrate around Antarctica. The team followed these formidable predators as they …

Special issue on how oceans are changing

14 May, 2018

The seas around the Antarctic Peninsula are biologically extremely rich, but are climatically sensitive, having experienced some of the fastest warming globally in recent decades. A special issue of the …

Warming oceans could put seabirds out of sync with prey

4 April, 2018

Seabirds may struggle to find food for their chicks as they are unable to shift their breeding seasons as the climate warms, a new study suggests. Rising sea temperatures in …

Research mission to Larsen C Ice Shelf thwarted by sea ice

2 March, 2018

Heavy sea ice conditions have thwarted a science mission from reaching the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica from which a large iceberg broke off in July 2017. A team …

Sea butterflies repair shell damage from ocean acidification

25 January, 2018

A new study of tiny marine snails called sea butterflies shows the great lengths these animals go to repair damage caused by ocean acidification. The paper, led by researchers at …

Lanternfish reveal how ocean warming impacts the twilight zone

12 January, 2018

A new study from the British Antarctic Survey shows how lanternfish, small bioluminescent fish, are likely to respond to the warming of the Southern Ocean. Lanternfish are one of the …

Expedition to ‘health-check’ Southern Right Whales

10 January, 2018

An international team of researchers, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), travels to the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia this month (January) to carry out the first scientific whale survey …

New Year Honours for British Antarctic Survey scientist

5 January, 2018

Our congratulations go to Dr Phil Trathan who has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to Southern Ocean science and conservation. Dr …

Krill behaviour takes carbon to the ocean depths

15 December, 2017

A new study shows that Antarctic krill behave in a way that could accelerate the transport of atmospheric carbon to the deep ocean. Antarctic krill form some of the highest …

Albatrosses in decline from fishing and environmental change

20 November, 2017

The populations of wandering, black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses have halved over the last 35 years on sub-antarctic Bird Island according to a new study published today (20 November) in the …

Study sheds new light on krill larvae survival

14 November, 2017

An international study involving British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists has shed light on how the larvae of Antarctic krill – small shrimp-like crustaceans – use sea ice to ensure their …

BBC Blockbuster Blue Planet II returns

23 October, 2017

Blue Planet II – the nature documentary that explores the deepest and darkest realms of the world’s oceans – is back on the BBC some 16 years after it was …

New study calls for unified research to understand changing ecosystems

2 October, 2017

A new multidisciplinary study led by scientists at British Antarctic Study (BAS) stresses the need for an integrated approach to understand the effects of climate change on Antarctic marine ecosystems. …

Science cruise departs ahead of Discovery Investigations anniversary

22 September, 2017

Today the royal research ship RRS Discovery will depart Southampton for an ambitious science expedition to the ocean around South Georgia. This expedition will take place almost 100 years after …

Zooplankton resilient to long-term warming

29 August, 2017

Temperature plays an important role in the distribution of ocean plankton communities and has the potential to cause major distribution shifts, as recently observed in the Arctic. A new study …

Plastic pollution in the Antarctic worse than expected

19 June, 2017

The levels of microplastic particles accumulating in the Antarctic are much worse than expected, a team of experts has warned. The continent is considered to be a pristine wilderness compared …

New study reveals what penguins eat

15 February, 2017

The longest and most comprehensive study to date of what penguins eat is published this month. The study, published in the journal Marine Biology, examines the diets of gentoo penguins …

Divers inspect epibenthic communities on Anchorage wall, near Rothera Research Station

FEATURED PAPER: Ecosystem Services

1 February, 2017

Intensifying pressures from fisheries, habitat destruction, pollution and climate change are driving global declines in marine biodiversity. Despite widespread conservation efforts there is a growing argument that traditional approaches have …

Conservation plans to protect the albatross

11 January, 2017

The UK Overseas Territory of South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands is this week launching an ambitious conservation effort to help protect the albatross. South Georgia is a globally important …

Krill are at the lower end of the Southern Ocean food chain

Special feature highlights the value of biodiversity

7 December, 2016

Scientists agree that meeting the ever-increasing needs of the Earth’s human population while maintaining biological diversity is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Despite bold international commitments, biodiversity …

Adelie penguins on Rothera Point, Adelaide Island, Antarctica.

UK welcomes agreement on largest Marine Protected Area

28 October, 2016

HOBART, Australia: The world’s experts on Antarctic marine conservation have this week agreed to establish a marine protected area (MPA) in Antarctica’s Ross Sea. At the meeting of the Commission …

Study shows mixed fortunes for Signy penguins

27 October, 2016

A forty year study on a remote Antarctic island shows that while populations of two penguin species are declining, a third is increasing. Analysis of census data from Signy Island …

Nature’s ocean fertiliser

20 September, 2016

Scientists have discovered that Antarctic krill – a tiny shrimp-like crustacean – plays a key role in fertilising the Southern Ocean with iron, which stimulates the growth of phytoplankton, the …

Review of threats to seabirds

1 August, 2016

A review of breeding distributions, population trends, threats and key priorities for conservation actions on land and at sea for the 29 species covered by the Agreement on the Conservation …

Albatrosses use different regions when on migration

25 July, 2016

A new study of the movements of sub-Antarctic albatrosses tracked from two remote islands some 5,000 km apart, shows that although the birds from each breeding site take similar routes around the Southern Ocean, they forage in different areas for the majority of the time. The results are published this month in the Nature journal Scientific Reports.