Theodosius Dobzhansky once remarked that nothing in biology makes sense other than in the light of evolution, thereby emphasising the central role of evolutionary studies in providing the theoretical context for all of biology. It is perhaps surprising then that evolutionary biology has played such a small role to date in Antarctic science. This is particularly so when it is recognised that the polar regions provide us with an unrivalled laboratory within which to undertake evolutionary studies. The Antarctic exhibits one of the classic examples of a resistance adaptation (antifreeze peptides and glycopeptides, first described from Antarctic fish), and provides textbook examples of adaptive radiations (for example amphipod crustaceans and notothenioid fish). The land is still largely in the grip of major glaciation, and the once rich terrestrial floras and faunas of Cenozoic Gondwana are now highly depauperate and confined to relatively small patches of habitat, often extremely isolated from other such patches. Unlike the Arctic, where organisms are returning to newly deglaciated land from refugia on the continental landmasses to the south, recolonization of Antarctica has had to take place by the dispersal of propagules over vast distances. Antarctica thus offers an insight into the evolutionary responses of terrestrial floras and faunas to extreme climatic change unrivalled in the world. The sea forms a strong contrast to the land in that here the impact of climate appears to have been less severe, at least in as much as few elements of the fauna show convincing signs of having been completely eradicated.

The public is worried and so governments - at least the democratic ones - should also be worried. The global environment is changing and the consequences are still not understood. How much is natural and how much anthropogenic? In many cases the changes appear to be for the worse. Scientific opinion, as evidenced through the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is gloomy. By most estimates the rate of change will continue to increase and, if we cannot halt or slow the driving processes major modifications in where and how we live will be essential for survival. How do we know this and what should be done about it?

In the last decade the notion of large subglacial lakes in Antarctica has attracted increasing attention. Lake Vostok is by far the largest of approximately 63 subglacial lakes now known in Antarctica, and the one about which most is known. The possible exploration of Lake Vostok was the subject of a very successful workshop held in Cambridge, UK, in September, 1999, sponsored by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) with the support of many others, and organized and hosted by the British Antarctic Survey.

A key element in Antarctic conservation over the past forty years has been area protection. In pursuit of this and the protection of continuing scientific investigations 59 protected areas have so far been agreed by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. Although both flora and fauna have been protected under this regime there has only been the habitat matrix devised by SCAR as a guide to selection of areas. What could we do to improve the process of identification and selection?

Weaned pups and post-moult female elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) were fitted with satellite transmitters at King George Island (South Shetland Islands) between December 1996 and February 1997. Of the nine adult females tracked for more than two months, three stayed in a localized area between the South Shetland Islands and the South Orkney Islands. The other six females travelled south-west along the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula up to the Bellingshausen Sea. Two of them then moved north-east and hauled out on South Georgia in October. One female was last located north of the South Shetland Islands in March 1998. In total, eight females were again sighted on King George Island and six of the transmitters removed. The tracks of the weaners contrasted with those of the adults. In January, five juveniles left King George Island for the Pacific sector spending about four weeks in the open sea west of the De Gerlache Seamounts. Three of them returned to the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula in June, of which one was last located on the Patagonian Shelf in November 1997. The juveniles avoided sea ice while the adults did not. The latter displayed behavioural differences in using the pack ice habitat during winter. Some females adjusted their movement patterns to the pulsating sea ice fringe in distant foraging areas while others ranged in closed pack ice of up to 100%. The feeding grounds of adult female elephant seals are more closely associated with the pack ice zone than previously assumed. The significance of the midwater fish Pleuragramma antarcticum as a potential food resource is discussed.

The white-chinned petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis) is an abundant, widespread petrel breeding in tussock grassland at sub-Antarctic islands. Over the last decade it has been killed in large numbers in temperate and sub-tropical longline fisheries. However no data are available on the global population status. We assessed the status of white-chinned petrels at Bird Island, South Georgia by comparing the distribution and density of occupied burrows in 1981 and 1998. In both surveys white-chinned petrel burrows occurred in one-quarter of the 460–477 36-m2 quadrats surveyed. The total number of burrows in each quadrat was consistent between each survey but we estimate an overall decrease of 28% in those occupied (with considerable variation between sites). Concurrent data on breeding frequency and success showed that white-chinned petrels are essentially annual breeders at Bird Island; breeding success was consistent at around 44%. Significant factors determining densities of occupied burrows were crown height and percent tussock cover (accounting for 77% of variance). The former has decreased significantly, the latter increased significantly between 1981 and 1998 but there was no relationship between white-chinned petrel occupancy rate and habitat modification due to the presence of fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella). This suggests that any population decline is due to factors operating away from the breeding colony, such as those attributed to fishing.

A process-oriented study was carried out in White Smoke lake, Bunger Hills, East Antarctica, a perennially ice-covered (1.8 to 2.8 m thick) epishelf (tidally-forced) lake. The lake water has a low conductivity and is relatively well mixed. Sediments are transferred from the adjacent glacier to the lake when glacier ice surrounding the sediment is sublimated at the surface and replaced by accumulating ice from below. The lake bottom at the west end of the lake is mostly rocky with a scant sediment cover. The east end contains a thick sediment profile. Grain size and δ13C increase with sediment depth, indicating a more proximal glacier in the past. Sedimentary 210Pb and 137Cs signals are exceptionally strong, probably a result of the focusing effect of the large glacial catchment area. The post-bomb and pre-bomb radiocarbon reservoirs are c. 725 14 C yr and c. 1950 14C yr, respectively. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the east end of the lake is >3 ka BP, while photographic evidence and the absence of sediment cover indicate that the west end has formed only over the last century. Our results indicate that the southern ice edge of Bunger Hills has been relatively stable with only minor fluctuations (on the scale of hundreds of metres) over the last 3000 years.

Published and unpublished data are used to investigate possible mechanisms of species diversification in two key groups of Antarctic organisms: the Notothenioidei and the Euphausiidae. Species distributions are mapped onto molecular phylogenies, and this evidence is interpreted in light of the various ecological and historical factors which characterize the Southern Ocean. The joint effect of diverse agents (vicariance, “jump” dispersal) appears to be determinant in several cases for species divergence. A review of results from population genetics studies, together with new molecular evidence, confirm the importance of physical barriers (oceanographic fronts) in reducing migration, thereby promoting speciation, at least in notothenioids.

In the summer of 1995/96, 25 southern elephant seals, Mirounga leonina, were stomach lavaged at Stranger Point, King George Island, South Shetland Islands. Cephalopod remains were present in 72% of the individuals sampled (n = 18). Seven species of squid and three of octopus were identified. The squid Psychroteuthis glacialis was the most important prey in terms of numbers (77%), biomass (80.8%) and frequency of occurrence (94.4%). Next in importance in terms of mass was the squid Alluroteuthis antarcticus (7.8%) in the diet of females and the octopodid Pareledone ?charcoti in the diet of males (13.2%). Females preyed on a wider variety of squid taxa than males (7 vs 3) but octopodids occurred only in stomach contents from males. The predominance of P. glacialis in the prey of the South Shetland Islands elephant seals can be explained by the southerly location of the foraging areas of this population compared to South Georgia, Heard and Macquarie islands, where the diet of southern elephant seals has previously been analysed. Psychroteuthis glacialis is the predominant squid in waters close to the Antarctic continent.

This paper documents the previously undescribed terrestrial fauna (mites, nematodes, tardigrades) and flora (liverworts, mosses and lichens) of Marion Nunataks, Charcot Island (69°45'S 075°15'W). Species diversity in all groups is low relative to other Maritime Antarctic sites, probably a twin function of very limited ice-free terrain and extreme isolation. The fauna and flora are wholly immigrant and, with the exceptions of two lichens (Psilolechia lucida and Umbilicaria aff. thamnodes), clearly derived from the Maritime Antarctic. The fauna is unique for the Maritime Antarctic in that it appears to contain neither predatory arthropods nor Collembola (springtails), which are otherwise ubiquitous and important members of the terrestrial fauna of the zone. The flora includes exceptional development of three mosses that are encountered only rarely at latitudes south of c. 65°S, Brachythecium austrosalebrosum, Dicranoweisia crispula and Polytrichum piliferum. The southern limit for several mosses and lichens has been extended. This small and isolated site is extremely vulnerable to accidental human-mediated introduction of both native Antarctic and alien biota.

A radioecological survey around Terra Nova Bay showed that 239 + 240Pu, 238Pu, 241Am, 90Sr and 137Cs activities were detectable in nearly all the samples. The 239 + 240Pu and 241Am concentrations in seawater were slightly lower than those in the northern Pacific Ocean. The activity level of 239 + 240Pu, 241Am and 137Cs in Antarctic sediments (Ross Sea) was c. 5–20 times lower than in northern Adriatic sediments (Mediterranean Sea), but the 238Pu activities were relatively high. The 90Sr concentrations in all the sediment samples from both the Ross and Adriatic seas tended to be low which might be due to an easier exchange of 90Sr in seawater. On the other hand, high concentrations were detected in Antarctic mosses, lichens and algae and their activity levels are comparable to those in central Italy. The radionuclide ratio analyses show that the major part of 239 + 240Pu, 241Am, 90Sr and 137Cs is the result of nuclear weapon tests. A higher 241Am/239 + 240Pu ratio might be due to the fallout of earlier atmospheric nuclear tests. The 238Pu239 + 240Pu ratio in the Antarctic matrices is about seven times higher than in the Northern Hemisphere and this could suggest that the major part of 238Pu originated from the SNAP-9A satellite accident.

A short summary of some the most important hypotheses on the evolution of Southern Ocean peracarid crustaceans and some of the potential reasons for the high biodiversity of this taxon is presented. Besides the knowledge of horizontal and vertical distribution patterns of Southern Ocean peracarids, the importance of the evolution of the notothenioid fishes on the evolution of the Peracarida is discussed. Key questions for a better understanding of evolutionary biology of Southern Ocean Peracarida are highlighted.

Seals that survived their first year were on average 2% and 4% heavier at birth and at weaning than the “non-survivors”. First year survival rates calculated for weaners over 135 kg weaning masses showed these weaners had higher survival rates than those less than 95 kg at weaning (71.55% and 54.15% respectively). Heavy weaners had greater fat reserves than light weaners and gained relatively more mass during lactation. Size, and therefore condition at weaning, influences first year survival.

The concentrations of viruses, bacteria, chroococcoid cyanobacteria and chlorophyll a were determined in surface waters of the Southern Ocean during spring. Viral concentrations declined southward from around 4 × 106 ml−1 near Tasmania to a minimum of around 1 × 106 ml−1 at the Polar Front. South of the Front, virus concentrations increased again, reaching around 4 × 106 ml−1 in the sea-ice zone south of 60°S. Bacterial concentration decreased southwards across the Southern Ocean from around 6.5 × 105 ml−1 near Tasmania to < 1.0 × 105 ml−1 in the sea-ice zone. Cyanobacteria accounted for < 8% of the prokaryotes. There was no significant relationship between viral abundance and eithercyanobacterial or chl a concentration. Viral and bacterial concentrations were not significantly correlated north (P {0.10 < r < 0.20}) or south (P {0.20 < r < 0.5}) of the Polar Front. The virus to bacteria ratio (VBR) was between 3 and 15 in the open ocean but varied between 15 and 40 in the sea-ice region. These virus concentrations and VBRs indicate that viruses are no less important in Southern Ocean ecosystems than elsewhere in the world's oceans.

Primary productivity and associated biogeochemical fluxes within the Southern Ocean are globally significant, sensitive to change and poorly known compared to temperate marine ecosystems. We present seasonal time series data of chlorophyll a, primary productivity and in-water irradiance measured in the coastal waters of the Western Antarctica Peninsula and build upon existing models to provide a more optimum parameterization for the estimation of primary productivity in Antarctic coastal waters. These and other data provide strong evidence that bio-optical characteristics and phytoplankton productivity in Antarctic waters are different from temperate waters. For these waters we show that over 60% of the variability in primary production can be explained by the surface chlorophyll a concentration alone, a characteristic, which lends itself to remote sensing models. If chlorophyll a concentrations are accurately determined, then the largest source of error (13–18%) results from estimates of the photoadaptive variable (PBopt). Further, the overall magnitude of PBopt is low (median 1.09 mg C mg chl−1 h−1) for these data compared to other regions and generally fits that expected for a cold water system. However, the variability of PBopt over the course of a season (0.4 to 3 mg C mg chl−1 h−1) is not consistently correlated with other possible environmental parameters, such as chlorophyll, sea surface temperature, incident irradiance, day length, salinity, or taxonomic composition. Nonetheless, by tuning a standard depth-integrated primary productivity model to fit representative PBopt values and the relatively uniform chlorophyll-normalized production profile found in these waters, we can improve the model to account for approximately 72–73% variability in primary production both for our data as well as for independent historic Antarctic data.

Antarctica is a continental island and the waters of its shelf and upper slope are an insular evolutionary site. The shelf waters resemble a closed basin in the Southern Ocean, separated from other continents by distance, current patterns and subzero temperatures. The benthic fish fauna of the shelf and upper slope of the Antarctic Region includes 213 species with higher taxonomic diversity confined to 18 families. Ninety-six notothenioids, 67 liparids and 23 zoarcids comprise 45%, 32% and 11% of the fauna, a combined total of 88%. In high latitude (71–78°S) shelf areas notothenioids dominate abundance and biomass at levels of 90–95%. Notothenioids are also morphologically and ecologically diverse. Although they lack a swim bladder, the hallmark of the notothenioid radiation has been repeated diversification into water column habitats. There are pelagic, semipelagic, cryopelagic and epibenthic species. Notothenioids exhibit the disproportionate speciosity and high endemism characteristic of fish species flock. Antifreeze glycopeptides originating from a transformed trypsinogen gene are a key innovation. It is not known when the modern Antarctic shelf fauna assumed its current taxonomic composition. A late Eocene fossil fauna was taxonomically diverse and cosmopolitan. There was a subsequent faunal replacement with little carryover of families into the modern fauna. Basal notothenioid clades probably diverged in Gondwanan shelf locations during the early Tertiary. Dates inferred from molecular sequences suggest that phyletically derived Antarctic clades arose 15–5 m.y.a.

Snow samples taken at various distances from the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) colony near Halley station were analysed by ion chromatography. Extremely high ammonium concentrations were encountered at the colony itself, but fell off sharply with distance from the colony, reaching background levels within a few kilometres of the colony. A seasonal effect was also seen, with the highest concentrations found in spring when the colony was at its most active. Levels of potassium and other sea-salt ions were also elevated near the colony. The ratio of sodium to potassium was lower than that found in bulk seawater, and closer to that found in the penguin's food source, indicating that the increased concentrations are due to emissions from the penguins and not merely to the proximity of open seawater to the site. The colony thus has a significant effect on the composition of the nearby snow, but this effect is strongly localised and is not likely to significantly influence snow chemistry at inland ice core drilling sites.

During the last decade, methods for detecting DNA polymorphisms have proliferated at a bewildering pace. Today the investigator must choose among various types of genetic markers as well as between a variety of methods for discovering and screening polymorphisms. Polymorphisms useful for the analysis of population structure are found in both mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. Marker development may proceed along two routes: 1) discovery of species–specific markers, and 2) application of universal methods. Species-specific markers are based on sequence data from the target species or close relatives, whereas universal markers are based on the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers targeted to regions highly conserved across diverse taxa. Markers commonly employed include mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms, microsatellites, anonymous nuclear loci and known genes (both coding and noncoding regions). Methods for detecting polymorphisms range from technically simple (RFLP analysis) to more sophisticated mutation scanning methods. We review the application of these approaches to several key Antarctic species (the Patagonian toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides, the mackerel icefish Champsocephalus gunnari, and the squid Martialia hyadesi Rochebrune & Mabille, 1889) and present preliminary data on genetic polymorphisms in toothfish and icefish.

Macromolecular substances that cause pitting and other modifications of growing ice crystals were found to be associated with cyanobacterial mats, eukaryotic algae and mosses from Ross Island and the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Ice-pitting activities were largely retained by dialysis membranes with molecular weight cut-offs of up to 300 kDa. Unlike most aqueous solutes, the ice-active molecules were not excluded from the ice phase during freezing. The ice-pitting activities of each of the samples tested was destroyed by exposure to temperatures between 45 and 65°C, suggesting that they have a protein component. Ice-active substances were not found in cyanobacteria or mosses from temperate climates, but ice-activity was found to be associated with mosses from cold habitats in North America. Although the function of the ice-active substances is not known, their apparent confinement to cold environments suggests that they have a cryoprotective role.

A new octopod species, Graneledone gonzalezi sp. nov., is described from 19 specimens collected off the northern Îles Kerguelen. This is a bathyal octopus which is characterized by: the absence of supra-ocular papillae, short arms, a long ligula without copulatory ridges, a narrow head, six filaments per outer demibranch and radula exhibiting no archaic traits, medium size oocytes and a low number of very long spermatophores. Graneledone gonzalezi is compared with its other congeneric species and found most closely resemble G. antarctica. The geographic and bathymetric distribution of G. gonzalezi is also discussed.