Antarctic cartographers face many challenges. They are required to prepare accurate maps of a remote and dangerous environment in support of science programmes, logistic operations, and search and rescue activities. Yet they have limited resources in terms of manpower, funds and primary source material for this vital work, perhaps because their science discipline is held in low esteem by their peers. They are commonly regarded as service providers rather than scientists in their own right.

The Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty is rapidly approaching ratification, and nations which have now signed it see the Protocol as a signal for considerable future debate, if not scrutiny. Everyone has begun to implement, at least in spirit, many of its requirements which are now beginning to have an effect on science on the continent. This is currently evident in at least four different ways:

1. a reallocation of funding from pure science, to �applied� science relating to human impacts,

2. an increase in funding to allow for studies of human impact and the meeting of Protocol obligations,

3. a reassessment by the science community on what can be done with minimal impact, and

4. an imposition on the science community of rules and codes which will restrict many types of scientific work that have been carried out in the past, and will force modifications of future work.

This issue contains contributions from a Prince Charles Mountains workshop and the Selwyn Symposium, held at The University of Melbourne in October 1996. The A.R. Selwyn Lecture, presented by Pat Quilty, raised key questions about the new relationships between scientists and administrators and the way that science is justified and funded. Non-scientists are taking a far greater role in deciding the directions of science and the questions that will be addressed. He highlighted the follies in the current fashion of using the last million years of geological history to understand global change and how this misses the point that much more dramatic changes have occurred in earth history including those recorded in some of Antarctica's older rocks.

Does Antarctic research have a bad name? The short answer in some quarters is, ‘Yes’. But why should this be so? Antarctica is an exciting and stimulating place to work and, whatever one's field of science, because of the continent's present-day isolated position, its massive ice cover and its previous key location within the ancient Gondwana supercontinent, it holds many important clues and answers to questions about our planet and its environment. Yet, those of us who are required to submit our science to peer review are sometimes perplexed by incomprehensible and unreasonably negative comments that come from outside. Are these non-Antarctic scientists just jealous, or do they have a point?

The statolith microstructure was studied in 142 females (mantle length, ML, ranging from 77–402 mm) and 119 males (72–328 mm ML) of Martialia hyadesi caught on the Patagonian and Falkland shelves and at the Antarctic Polar Frontal Zone between 1989–94. The statolith microstructure dark zone in this species, contains narrower and more numerous growth increments than the dark zones of other ommastrephid squids. Assuming daily production of putative growth increments within statoliths males live up to 12 months, and females live up to 13 months. It is likely that the life cycle lasts c. 1 yr, but immature squids with ages >330–340 d suggest that a part of M. hyadesi populations could have life span >1 yr. Growth in length was best described by the Gompertz function, whereas growth in weight was best described by the logistic function. M. hyadesi is characterized by slow juvenile growth (<100 mm ML), fast growth of immature squids and a sharp decrease in growth rates during maturation. M. hyadesi mature later (at ages >270 d) than other temperate ommastrephids, but maturation is rather rapid (2–3 months). In the south-west Atlantic, M. hyadesi hatch throughout the year.

The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources states as part of its objective the maintenance of ecological relationships and the prevention of irreversible changes to the ecosystem. The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) has implemented an Ecosystem Monitoring Programme (CEMP) for the Antarctic marine environment to give effect to this requirement. The design phase of the programme took three years. The programme has been fully implemented since 1987 and involves monitoring selected predator, prey and environmental indicators of ecosystem performance. The central aim of the programme is the detection of changes in these indicators and the interpretation as to whether these changes are due to natural events or the harvesting of marine living resources. The core of the programme is the acquisition, centralised storage and analysis of standardised monitoring data combined with a strong emphasis on empirical and modelling based research. This both modifies the monitoring approach in line with changing requirements and creates a sound scientific background against which to test the effects of management options on components of the Antarctic ecosystem. The development of procedures for translating monitoring results into management advice is a critical part of the programme. Management takes the form of the regulation of fishing activities. Since 1987 CEMP has collected data on six bird and seal species at 15 sites around the Antarctic. Up to 14 parameters of predator performance and 10 parameters of prey and environmental performance are collected at each site. The data sets collected by CEMP form an extremely powerful tool for understanding and managing the Antarctic marine ecosystem.

Knowledge of copepod abundance and distribution has been limited, particularly in the Indian Ocean sector, as the use of coarse sampling gear has meant that copepods were frequently lost from the catch. This study analyses samples obtained from Prydz Bay using a fine mesh (300 μm) Rectangular Midwater Trawl (RMT1) net during summer 1992–93. Results demonstrate that a net of mesh 4.5 mm used in previous studies underestimates total copepod abundance by a factor of 38. The abundance of the smaller species has been underestimated the most. New estimates of copepod biomass indicate that copepods represent approximately 27% of krill biomass. Copepod and krill distributions are shown to be discrete at 82.4% dissimilarity. Mean temperature accounted for 33.6% of the variation in copepod distribution while two of the species showed a slight correlation with chlorophyll a pigment data. These results highlight the numerical importance of copepods and the species' distributions in the East Antarctic marine ecosystem.

A general study of the streams of Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, was undertaken to identify the effects of catchment, distance from source, and time on concentrations of dissolved ions. In the majority of cases catchment did not affect the chemistry of streams, although marine-derived ions were affected by distance from the sea. Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl− and NH4+were derived from the thawing of the winter snowpack. NO3− was derived from areas of permanent ice. SiO44−, Ca2+, Mg2+ and CO2−3 were derived from crustal weathering. Although PO43− was also derived from crustal weathering, it was released as a pulse related to the thawing of the soil.

A total of 135 bacterial strains were isolated from congelation (land fast) sea ice samples and ice algae biomass samples obtained from the coastal areas of the Vestfold Hills in East Antarctica (68°S, 78°E) during the summers of 1992–95. The sea ice isolates, along with reference strains. were analysed by numerical taxonomy and for DNA base composition in order to determine the biodiversity of sea ice bacteria. From these analyses 22 clusters of strains (phena) were obtained with most phena apparently representing novel bacterial taxa. The sea ice isolates could be categorized into three groups based on their ecophysiology: 1) slightly halophilic, psychrophilic bacteria often possessing fastidious growth requirements and which were predominantly isolated from sea ice algae biomass or from algae-rich ice samples; 2) halotolerant and psychrotolerant bacteria; and 3) non-halophilic bacteria isolated primarily from upper sections of congelation ice and other ice samples with low levcls of algal biomass.

Field surveys of free-living terrestrial microarthropods were made during the 1994–95 summer at four sites in northern Marguerite Bay (Anchorage Island, Lagoon Island, Léonie Island, Rothera Point; c. 68°S, 68°W) and three on southern Alexander Island (Two Step Cliffs, Fossil Bluff, Ablation Valley; c. 71–72°S, 68°W). Detailed site descriptions are presented, as little previous information exists. Twenty species (four Collembola, 16 Acari) were recorded from the Marguerite Bay sites, with a maximum of 17 species at one site. A further four species (one Collembola, two Acari, one Diptera) have been recorded from the same area by other authors. Species diversity at these sites, in particular Léonie Island, is as great as at any known site elsewhere in the maritime Antarctic, although the total area of terrestrial habitat available is small. Individual species and total population densities are also similar to, if not greater than, published studies from the South Shetland and South Orkney Islands. None of the species is new to the maritime Antarctic, although the distributions of several are extended southwards. Only nine species (maximum seven at one site) were found on Alexander Island, concurrent with decreases in population densities to levels similar to those found in many continental Antarctic studies. This still represents a high species diversity for such a high latitude site. The richness of two sites, Ablation Valley and Mars Oasis (Two Step Cliffs), is unlikely to be repeated elsewhere on Alexander Island. The Alexander Island fauna is clearly related to that of the maritime Antarctic, as all except one species occur at more northerly sites elsewhere on the Antarctic Peninsula, and none in the continental Antarctic. One species, Friesia topo (Collembola), is known only from Alexander Island.

The notothenid species Trematomus bernacchii has previously been shown, by allozyme analysis, to be a complex of two cryptic species, one of which being more closely related to T. hansoni than to the other T. bernacchii cryptic species. Two T. bernacchii colour morphs, “white blotch” and “brown”, at McMurdo Sound, may correspond to these cryptic species. In this study, we present mitochondrial DNA sequences of the 12S and 16S ribosomal regions for six “white blotch” morphs, eight “brown” morphs collected in McMurdo Sound, one individual collected off the Antarctic Peninsula, and two T. hansoni individuals from McMurdo Sound. These sequences were compared with those of T. bernacchii and T. hansoni in the literature. Based on 14 phylogenetically informative sequences, no differences were found between “white blotch” and “brown” morphs. Furthermore, only one substitution separated these sequences from the previously published T. hansoni sequence, while 10 substitutions separated them from the previously published T. bernacchii sequence. Misidentified specimens, and sequence misreadings may be at the origin of these discrepancies. However, the presence of cryptic species within T. bernacchii and T. hansoni is not ruled out.

Foraging grey-headed albatrosses spent 86% of the night but only 20% of the day sitting on the sea; most diving activity occurred during daylight. During the broad-guard period of nesting, peaks of diving activity occurred at midday and dusk. During the subsequent chick-rearing period, however, diving was mainly at dawn and dusk. Of 485 dives measured, the depth averaged 0.74 m, with maximum depth at 6.5 m. On average grey-headed albatrosses dived 24 times during a five day foraging trip. Dive depths increased towards midday, probably as a function of the birds' visual acuity rather than due to vertical migration of their prey. We estimate that grey-headed albatrosses may obtain 30–45% of their daily food requirements by diving.

As part of the Ross Sea Marginal Ice Zone Ecology Project (ROSSMIZE) the summer organic matter flux through the water column was measured at 40 m depth in Terra Nova Bay. Water samples and material from a sediment trap on the sea-bottom were analysed for their biochemical composition. A close coupling between biochemical composition of the organic matter in the water column and the material collected in the sediment trap was found, resulting from complex interactions between physical and biological processes. The physical processes are related to break-up and melting of the ice cover and occur mainly in the early summer season, whilst biological processes play a key role in mid summer and, from the evidence from faecal pellets, are related to the primary production and consumption processes.

In Potter Cove, King George Island, Antarctica, macroalgae provide a significant food resource for herbivores. The demersal fish Notothenia coriiceps feeds on macroalgae. Eighteen algal species were identified in stomach contents: two chlorophytes, ten rhodophytes and six phaeophytes. Among these the rhodophyte Palmaria decipiens, the phaeophyte Desmarestia menziesii and the chlorophyte Monostroma hariotii comprised the greatest proportions of algal biomass. A food selection study showed four algae to be preferred (P. decipiens, M. hariotii, D. menziesii, Iridaea cordata) and two species to be avoided (Desmarestia anceps and Himantothallus grandifolius) by N. coriiceps. The present investigation indicates that this fish feeds not only intentionally, but also selectively, on macroalgae. Preference for particular algal species is not related to associated epifaunal biomass or to associated amphipod biomass.

Trematomus newnesi inhabited inshore (<20 m) subzero waters in McMurdo Sound where it fed in the water column on Euphausia crystallorophias and fishes. This sample included the largest reported specimens of this species. The length–weight relationship was Weight = 3.17 × 10−6 (Standard Length)3.34, n = 67, r2 = 0.95. The population was phenotypically plastic, with two distinct morphs easily separated by visual inspection – the typical morph and a large mouth/broad headed morph comprising 28% of the sample. The large mouth morph had a wider and blunter head, longer upper jaw, wider gape, more heavily ossified jaws and darker colouration. To document this morphology, four views of the head are illustrated. Inference from morphology and measurements suggested that the large mouth morph was more benthic than the typical semipelagic morph. Museum specimens from Cape Adare confirmed the presence of the large mouth morph 700 km north of McMurdo Sound. This is the first clear example of phenotypic plasticity in any species of marine fish and its discovery extends the bounds of the nototheniid adaptive radiation to the population level. This finding suggests ecological and evolutionary parallels between the inshore waters of the high Antarctic shelf and the low diversity ichthyofaunas of Arctic, boreal and some temperate lakes. Although there is no data on genetic diversification, an alternate interpretation of the phenotypic plasticity is that the large mouth morph is a cryptic or sibling species.

Algal communities colouring snow and ice were studied at fourteen sites on Cierva Point (Danco Coast, Antarctic Peninsula). Chlorophyta were the dominant group in cryobiontic communities, both in species richness and abundance. Cyanobacteria and diatoms, in turn, showed a higher species number at low altitude, well drained temporary snow fields, probably denoting a cryoxenic character. Descriptions of the six species newly recorded for Antarctica are given, and the taxonomic position of some Scotiella, Trochiscia and Koliella species is discussed. Further research is needed to assess the importance of various stress factors in the progressive drop in species richness and biosynthesis of secondary carotenoids associated with a change in snow colour from green to orange-red to pink-red.

The myctophid, Electrona antarctica, was collected by trawl from the Elephant Island region of the Antarctic Peninsula, and from East Antarctica near 61°S and 93°W. Total lipid was higher in Elephant Island E. antarctica (whole fish, 466–585 mg g−1 dry weight) than those from Eastern Antarctica (394–459 mg g−1). Wax esters comprised 86.2–90.5% of total lipid in E. antarctica flesh. There were no significant differences between Eastern Antarctica and Elephant Island in total wax ester levels, or in levels of wax esters between different tissues analysed. Oily bones (up to 326 mg g−1 in the neurocranium) characterized E. antarctica from both locations, with wax esters as the major skeletal lipid class (67.0–87.9%, percent of lipid). The wax esters may have a buoyancy role in E. antarctica. The only substantial amount of triacylglycerols (29.4%) were found in the viscera of Elephant Island fish. The principal fatty acids of all fish analysed included the monounsaturated fatty acids 18:1(n-9) and 16:1(n-7), with lower levels of 16:0 and 14:0 saturated acids. Fatty alcohols were dominated by the saturated 16:0 and 14:0 (37.8–47.8%) and the monounsaturated 18:1(n-9) and 18:1(n-7) (38.3–59.2%). The low ratio of 22:1/20:1 alcohols observed for E. antarctica is consistent with a diet of amphipods, copepods and other items low in 22:1 alcohols.

Antarctic soil chronically exposed to gas-oil was analysed in order to isolate and study the growth conditions of hydrocarbon degrading bacteria. Soil samples taken near the shoreline in Jubany Station (King George Island, South Shetland Islands) were used as inoculum in liquid culture media with crude oil as sole carbon source. A psychrotrophic Acinetobacter strain was isolated and selected for further investigations. Effects were studied of temperature, initial pH, NaCl concentration and different chemical structure of the hydrocarbon on growth. Degradation rate was determined with n-dodecane and n-hexadecane. Growth of Acinetobacter ADH-1 showed no differences at an initial pH of 7.0, 7.5 and 8.0. Optimum temperature ranged between 25–30°C but the strain was capable of growing on n-dodecane at 4°C. Growth was observed in the presence of 3.5% NaCl. A decrease in the surface tension values was observed in the culture broth during the first 20 h of incubation (from 68 din cm−1 to 31 din cm−1). This proved to be related to the cellular fraction of the culture. The study shows that Acinetobacter ADH-1 is a psychrotrophic bacteria able to grow with hydrocarbons as sole carbon and energy source and could be potentially useful to design bioremediation processes in temperate and cold climate areas.

Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) that absorb UV radiation (310–360 nm) were investigated in 34 species of benthic marine invertebrates (fourteen sponges, two cnidarians, one nemertean, four molluscs, one bryozoan, two arthropods, eight echinoderms and two tunicates), two species of benthic fish and two species of red algae collected during the spring of 1992 from McMurdo Sound. In addition, MAAs were measured in the ripe ovaries, testes and brooded juveniles of four species of echinoderms. While 90% of the species had MAAs in their tissues, both quantitative and qualitative measurements reflected a general lack of UV protectants among these fauna. Eight MAAs were detected among the species examined, but only four of these (mycosporine-glycine, shinorine, porphyra-334 and palythine) occurred in any appreciable number of the species. Palythinol only occurred in the sponge Isodictya erinacea and asterina-330 and palythene only occurred in the red alga Iridaea cordata. MAAs were detected in the ripe ovaries and testes of the sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri and the ripe ovaries and brooded young of the sea cucumber Cucumaria ferrari. Low levels and abundances of MAAs may reflect a reduced need for UV protectants in marine organisms inhabiting subtidal (>20 m depth) benthic environments that experience seasonal sea-ice cover. Low concentrations of MAAs may also be a function of diet, since the majority of benthic species present in McMurdo Sound are not herbivorous.

Uptake and loss of water by six lichen species from the Argentine Islands, Antarctic Peninsula, were studied in their natural habitat and in laboratory studies. Under field conditions, during a period of rain, uptake of moisture ranged from 15% d w h−1 for Usnea antarctica to almost 90% for Mastodia tesselata. Loss rates after the rain ceased were lower than the uptake rates and ranged from 8.5% d w.h−1 in Umbilicaria decussata to 38.8% in M. tesselata. A comparison of thalli of M. tesselata from the shoreline with thalli collected further inland showed significant differences in maximum water content and in rates of water loss and uptake between thalli from these sites, which could be ascribed to the presence of salt in the thalli of M. tesselata from the shore. Thallus samples of Usnea antarctica collected from an exposed site showed lower uptake rates and higher loss rates of water than samples collected from a more sheltered site. Under laboratory conditions the maximum moisture content ranged from 67% in Usnea antarctica to 391% in M. tesselata. Exposed to an atmosphere of c. 40% relative humidity and c. 15°C, lichen thalli lost their water during the first hour of the experiment at rates ranging from 34% of the maximum moisture content in Umbilicaria propagulifera to 70% in U. decussata. Rates of water loss diminished with time, and after 4–6 hours equilibrium was reached, with water contents of 14–16% of thallus dry weight. The microclimate is the driving force for the thallus water regime. Specific differences in rates of water loss and water uptake depend on the morphology and anatomy of the lichen thalli. The results of the laboratory experiments agree with those from the field study. However, local differences in microclimatic or other environmental factors can be responsible for significant differences in the water regime of thalli of the same species, a result which can only be obtained from field studies.