We examined sequence variation of ITS and phy2 for Bryum argenteum from Antarctica, sub-Antarctic, New Zealand and Australia to understand better taxonomic delimitations and resolve relationships between these geographic regions. Bryum argenteum has been recorded as two species, B. argenteum and B. subrotundifolium, in all four regions with the latter now referred to as B. argenteum var. muticum. We found disagreement between taxon delimitations (based on morphology) and molecular markers. All continental Antarctic specimens consistently formed a monophyletic sister group that consisted of both morphologically identified B. argenteum varieties, separate to all non-Antarctic specimens (also consisting of both varieties). We suggest, contrary to previous records, that all continental Antarctic (Victoria Land) populations are referable to B. argenteum var. muticum, while sub-Antarctic, Australian and New Zealand populations included here are B. argenteum var. argenteum. Additionally, since there was less genetic diversity within Victoria Land, Antarctica, than observed between non-Antarctic samples, we suggest that this is, in part, due to a potentially lower rate of DNA substitution and isolation in northern and southern refugia within Victoria Land since the Pleistocene.

Thurston Island, and the adjacent Eights Coast and Jones Mountains, record Pacific margin magmatism from Carboniferous to Late Cretaceous times. The igneous rocks form a uniformly calc-alkaline, high-alumina, dominantly metaluminous suite; some relatively fractionated granitoids are mildly peraluminous. The magmas were hydrous, a result of subduction. Gabbros have compositions outside the range of mafic volcanic and hypabyssal rocks, as a result of cumulate processes. Trace element compositions of the mafic magmas range from a low La/Yb, Th/Ta end-member close to E-MORB in composition, perhaps contaminated by crust, to a high La/Yb, Th/Ta end-member, close to shoshonite, with strong magmatic arc trace element character. This variation may be a result of mixing of tholeiitic and shoshonitic end-members. Most silicic rocks could have been generated batch-wise from mafic magmas by fractional crystallization of a phenocryst assemblage dominated by plagioclase, pyroxene ± amphibole, as seen in the cumulates. Cessation of magmatism at about 90 Ma approximately coincided with collison of a spreading centre between the Phoenix and Pacific oceanic plates with the continent margin subduction zone. The rifting of New Zealand from West Antarctica and associated extension probably was responsible for emplacement of a coast-parallel Cretaceous dyke swarm.

The diet of Antarctic fur seals around Heard Island was investigated in May and June 1990. Fish predominated in samples, occurring in an average of 93.4% of droppings. Otoliths from pelagic fish (mainly myctophids) constituted over 96% of all otoliths. There was an increase in the occurrence of squid from 3.4% in summer 1987/88 to 49.3% in the present study. For the fish species Gymnoscopelus nicholsi (Gilbert), 10.3% of otoliths recovered from scats were considered suitable for measurement compared with 30.5% from scats at Heard Island in 1987/88; this greater level of erosion provides further evidence that the seals were foraging further afield. The study demonstrates a significant difference between summer 1987/88 and winter 1990.

Antarctic late Cenozoic pectinid-bearing sedimentary strata are chiefly confined to localities in the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula, in the McMurdo Sound area, and Marine Plain, East Antarctica. Ages of these deposits range from Oligocene to Holocene. Chlamys-like scallops, which are absent from today's Southern Ocean, thrived in Antarctic waters during both glacial and interglacial episodes, but disappeared during the Late Pliocene. Their extinction is believed to result from the combined effects of increased carbonate solubility, habitat loss and limitations in food availability, associated with major cooling.

We evaluated the condition factor (K), an index of weight per unit length, in a sample of 49 761 longline-caught specimens of Antarctic toothfish, Dissostichus mawsoni, from the Ross Sea. Our sample consisted of specimens from northern (60–70°S) and southern (70–78°S) regions. Fifty percent of the northern sample and 4.9% of the southern sample were large individuals with a low condition factor (Kah ≤ 1.0182) and displaying an “axe handle (ah)” morphology with a notably thinner trunk. In the northern sample 55.4% of the males and 43.2% of the females were less than Kah. In the southern region 5.3% of the males and 4.5% of the females were less than Kah. The axe handle morphology is attributable to the metabolic loss of muscular and subcutaneous lipid stores, and probably proteins, from white muscle. Our discussion considers energy metabolism as related to migration, feeding and reproduction. We suggest that migration, a life history trait of the phyletically basal notothenioid clades Pseudaphritis and Eleginops, persists in D. mawsoni. The spawning migration from the southern shelf to ridges and seamounts in the north may reflect fidelity to historic spawning grounds. As evidenced by the axe handle specimens neutral buoyancy of large D. mawsoni may be ephemeral, fluctuating over the course of adult life.

The southernmost exposures of Mesozoic dolerites in Coats Land, the Omega dolerites, occur at Whichaway Nunataks. The dolerites are geochemically indistinguishable from the Theron Mountains' dolerites. In both regions high- and low-Ti compositions occur with trace element signatures more akin to island-arc magmas than within-plate tholeiites. From a preliminary Sr isotopic study the Omega dolerites can be classified as Ferrar type. The existence of Ferrar type material in these nunataks suggest that the boundary between the Ferrar and Weddell Sea sub-provinces occurs within the Theron Mountains.

Environmental changes in the northern Antarctic Peninsula provide a sensitive local indicator of climate warming. A consequence of these changes is the activation of surface and subsurface hydrological cycles in areas where water, in colder conditions, would remain frozen. This paper analyses the effects of hydrological cycle activation at Cape Lamb, Vega Island. The conclusions are based on hydrochemistry and isotope interpretation of 51 representative water samples from precipitation, streams, lakes, ice, snow and groundwater. Based on these results relationships between the different components of the hydrological cycle are proposed. This paper highlights the important contribution of groundwater to surface water chemistry, the disconnection of the lakes from the overall flow, the lack of an ocean spray signature in surface water and groundwater and the significant influence of windblown dust in the composition of the analysed waters.

This paper presents horizontal and seasonal differences in the concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in the surface waters of Admiralty Bay. The average annual concentrations of total nitrogen and total phosphorus were found to be 1.054 and 0.129 mg dm-3 respectively. Organic nitrogen constituted 59% of total nitrogen on average, while N-NO3- was substantially higher than N-NH4+ (0.362 and 0.062 mgN dm-3, respectively). Organic phosphorus constituted 34% of total phosphorus on average, and the mean annual concentration of reactive phosphorus was 0.085 mgP dm-3. The observed concentrations of N and P were higher in the nearshore area and lower in the central part of the Admiralty Bay basin. In explaining this account was taken of surface runoff into the bay, the decay of marine macroalgae in the tidal area and the excretion of N and P by marine animals. The concentrations of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in freshwater streams varied from 0.528–5.698 mgN dm-3 and from 0.088–1.709 mgP dm-3. In laboratory experiments, 24-hour loads of total nitrogen and total phosphorus released from the remains of macroalgae into the waters of the bay were estimated at about 6.2 tN and 10.3 tP, while the approximate quantities excreted by macrozoobenthos were 482 kgN and 48 kgP. The availability of N-NH4+ was seen to be greater in the waters of the bay than has been reported for open water in this part of the ocean and water from the Bransfield Strait had a diluting effect on the concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in the bay. The role of the wind in carrying mineral salts from waters of the Bay to the inland environment was also discussed.

Water soluble compounds were extracted from the dominant cryptogams of the Windmill Islands, Wilkes Land, and compared with standard polyols, sugars and amino acids using 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Previous findings for sugars and polyols from gas liquid chromatorgraphy were validated and extended. Arabitol, ribitol and mannitol were confirmed as the major soluble carbohydrate compounds in all lichen species examined. Sucrose, fructose and glucose, but no polyols were detected in two species of moss. Sorbitol was confirmed as a major component of the algae Prasiola crispa and Schizogonium murale. Mesotaenium bergrenii was confirmed to contain sucrose and glucose. No significant quantities of sugars or polyols or any other compound were found in extracts of the red snow alga Chloromonas sp.1. Amino acids were detected in the majority of cryptogam samples and were particularly abundant in the algae P. crispa and S. murale. In the latter species the total identified acids ranged from 13.5–66mg g-1 dry weight. In addition to the common amino acid components of proteins, betaine and γ-amino-butyric acid were detected, the latter being particularly abundant, being found widely in the moss, lichen and algae. Several unknown carbohydrates were characterized. Usnea sphacelata, U. antarctica and Pseudephebe minuscula contained a deoxy-hexitol, Grimmia antarctici contained resonance peaks consistent with a trisaccharide containing a sucrose moiety and Umbilicaria decussata possibly contained a glucose-arabitol dimer. 13C NMR was confirmed as a powerful tool for the characterization of low molecular weight constituents of Antarctic cryptogams.

King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus Miller) are major consumers in the Southern Ocean. The colony at Ile aux Cochons, Iles Crozet, in the southern Indian Ocean was known in the 1980s as the largest king penguin colony and the second largest penguin colony in the world. However, there have not been any recent estimates of this colony. Aerial photographs taken from a helicopter, and satellite images were used to report on changes in the colony and population sizes over the past 50 years. The colony has declined by 88% over the past 35 years, from c. 500 000 pairs to 60 000 pairs. The possible causes of this decline were explored but no plausible explanation for such an unprecedented decrease in penguin populations was found. The study highlights the use of satellite imagery as a non-invasive technique for population monitoring, and stresses the need for further research on the causes of this alarming trend in this colony.

On Hurd Peninsula (Livingston Island) neotectonic features, such as faults, affect the landforms and emerged marine levels. A detailed local study of these features provides information on the recent structural and geomorphological evolution of the area. We suggest that Hurd Peninsula is divided into several tectonic blocks separated by faults. Movement of the faults determines the relative altitude of these blocks and, in consequence, their susceptibility to glacial, periglacial or marine processes. Although some of the tectonic movements reflected in the landforms may have been inherited from former phases of deformation, some of the neotectonic faulting has a maximum lower Miocene age. A new method of correlation of emerged beach levels is suggested and the possibility of analysing the effects of neotectonic deformations from their analysis is discussed. The application of the methods tested here to other areas of the South Shetland archipelago could provide insights into the timing and mechanisms of recent tectonic evolution.

Granitoid gneisses intercalated with Koettlitz Group metasediments in the upper Ferrar, Taylor and Wright valleys of South Victoria Land comprise various hornblende+biotite orthogneisses and biotite orthogneisses, including the km-scale Dun and Calkin plutons. K-feldspar megacryst inclusion textures and discordant cross-cutting relationships with enclosing metasediments are interpreted as firm evidence of an intrusive origin for hornblende+biotite and biotite orthogneiss. The scale of several concordant orthogneiss bodies (including the Dun and Calkin plutons), the presence of mafic enclaves, and relict flow differentiation in hornblende+biotite orthogneiss are also compatible with a plutonic origin. Orthogneisses were emplaced prior to deformation that produced macroscopic upright, tight, folds about NW-trending axes. Petrography and geochemistry indicate I-type affinities for hornblende+biotite orthogneisses and the Dun Pluton. Hornblende+biotite and biotite orthogneisses (with the exception of the Dun Pluton) are part of a single petrogenetic suite, together with younger Bonney, Valhalla, and Hedley plutons. Emplacement of a continuum of I-type intrusives is envisaged which spanned Koettlitz Group deformation, and possibly caused much of the deformation. Hornblende+biotite and biotite orthogneisses are deformed precursors to the younger Bonney, Valhalla, and Hedley plutons. The Dun Pluton contains Fe-rich salitic clinopyroxene relicts and exhibits a unique geochemistry. It is rich in Sr, Al2O3, Na2O, and poor in FeO, K2O, Rb, Y, V. Chemical and petrographic features indicate an evolved body, possibly derived from a primitive source distinct from other orthogneisses and granitoids.

Indirect immunofluorescence was used to quantify the seasonal variation of four halophilic aerobic Antarctic bacteria in Antarctic saline lakes from July 1990 to January 1991. Antibodies were raised against type strains from the Australian Collection of Antarctic Microorganisms. During summer, all four serogroups were identified in the aerobic waters of lakes with total dissolved salts above 61%. Maximal abundances of Halomonas meridiana, H. subglaciescola and Flavobacterium gondwanense serogroups were observed at discrete depths within the water column in the two most hypersaline lakes at about midsummer, coincident with the time of maximum sunlight and the commencement of the summer thaw. At this time the Halomonas spp. serogroups comprised up to 40% of the total bacteria and the F. gondwanense serogroup up to 10% of the total bacteria. The F. salegens serogroup was in low numbers (>2% of total bacteria) in some aerobic waters. Up to 2% of the total bacterial populations in the lakes were autofluorescent or stained non-specifically. Dissolved organic carbon values were measured throughout the sampling period and correlated well with total bacterial numbers but not with changes in species composition. Change in species abundance, as indicated by immunofluorescence, was not reflected in the total bacterial count, indicating compositional change of the total bacterial population.

One of the least known Antarctic fish species is the icefish Chionobathyscus dewitti described first in 1978. Some of its reproductive characteristics appear to be similar to other channichthyids of similar size and shape. Females close to spawning have gonado–somatic indices (GSIs) of more than 20, and absolute fecundity was 2967 to 15612 oocytes in females 33–62 cm long. Relative fecundity was 7.6 in one female. Spawning has been observed in the Ross Sea at 1300 to 1500 m depth from January to March. Chionobathyscus dewitti may exhibit a remarkable egg carrying behaviour: eggs stick together in batches around the pelvic fins of females. The comparatively large number of mature males observed with no indication of an egg batch attached to their ventral fins makes it unlikely that males are involved in egg carrying. The few larvae of C. dewitti caught so far occurred from October onwards. Their size indicates that they have hatched as early as September. This suggests an incubation period of at least six months. We compare this with parental care reported in other notothenioids.

Samples from the lower Cape Lamb Member, López de Bertodano Formation, Cape Lamb, Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula have yielded rich and diverse marine palynofloral assemblages. The overall character of the palynofloral assemblages indicate a latest Campanian–earliest Maastrichtian age. Four new dinoflagellate cyst species Canninginopsis ordospinosa sp. nov., Microdinium ? gymnosuturum sp. nov., Phelodinium exilicornutum sp. nov. and Operculodinium radiculatum sp. nov. are described. Certain key dinoflagellate cyst taxa such as Operculodinium radiculatum sp. nov., Manumiella n. sp. 3 and Isabelidinium cretaceum allow a correlation of the lower Cape Lamb Member with the upper palynomorph zone 1/lower zone 2 on nearby Seymour Island.

Geomorphological observations show no detectable uplift (i.e. falling relative sea level) of Amery Oasis since the establishment of relatively stable sea level during the mid-Holocene. The observations around the basin of Beaver Lake include an absence of raised shoreline features, the presence down to the present tidal limit of in situ ventifacts and residual landforms, the cliffed southern shoreline and adjacent shallow subhorizontal floor of Beaver Lake, and the composition of recent moraines on the basin's north eastern edge. This lack of Holocene uplift is consistent with low uplift rates observed from coastal oases of East Antarctica and suggests minor, rather than major, changes to the Antarctic ice sheet during the most recent Quaternary glacial cycle. The formation of Beaver basin is attributed to late Cenozoic glacial excavation by south flowing ice of the palaeo-Nemesis Glacier, initially eroding when relative sea level was higher than it is today. The basin containing Radok Lake was excavated by the palaeo-Battye Glacier probably when most effective during the numerous long cold periods of the late Cenozoic. The field evidence from landforms and the presence of marine fossil deposits suggests Amery Oasis was not overrun by erosive ice since at least the Pliocene, major ice streams such as Lambert Glacier flowing then, as now, around the oasis.

Ischyodus dolloi Leriche 1902, the youngest record of the species, and Chimaera seymourensis sp. nov. are described from the La Meseta Formation, Late Eocene of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula.

Numbers of micro-organisms in soils from Wilkes Land varied widely. Bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi occurred in all samples analysed and the numbers of bacteria was positively correlated with the numbers of yeasts, and with pH. Moss protonema and seven species of algae and cyanobacteria were also present and measurable amounts of chlorophylls a, b and c were extracted from some samples. Only a few sites, those with moist sandy or gravelly soils free of extensive moss or lichen cover, contained the single mite species recorded.

We describe the habitat use of 22 male southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) satellite tagged at Marion Island between 2004 and 2008. While a few areas of increased utilization appeared to be associated with areas of shallower bathymetry (such as sea-floor ridges and fracture zones), seals in our study did not target other areas of shallow bathymetry within close proximity to Marion Island. Rather, most elephant seals foraged pelagically over very deep water where much variation was evident in diel vertical migration strategies. These strategies resulted in generally deeper and longer dives than what has been reported for male elephant seals from other colonies. No significant differences were recorded for dive durations or dive depths between adults and sub-adults. However, younger animals displayed a positive relationship between dive durations and age, as well as between dive depths and age, while these relationships became negative for older animals. Mixed model outputs suggested that seals increased their aerobic fitness as migrations progressed, enabling them to undertake longer dives. We conclude that Marion Island male elephant seals exhibit much variability in dive strategy and are seemingly capable of exploiting a range of different prey types occurring in various depth layers.

The shore environments of most sub-Antarctic islands have been described in a number of previous studies. However, there have been few attempts to quantify the variation in population and community patterns over different spatial scales. The objectives of this study were to provide an analysis of differences in the community structure of the biota of three exposed shore zones and of the macrofauna inhabiting holdfasts of the kelp Durvillaea antarctica across spatial scales of hundreds of metres, kilometres, and between a sheltered and exposed coast. Data were collected using a combination of quadrat, transect and direct sampling methods over the 1994–95 summer season. The results indicated that there were significant differences between coasts for some of the biotic variables in most of the habitats examined but that differences at the smaller spatial scales were more often significant. Thus, although wave exposure exerts an obvious effect on the shore biota of Macquarie Island, these effects are modified by other factors operating at smaller spatial scales. For the holdfast macrofauna, the overall patterns of community structure are likely to be due to the differential response of the component taxa to variation in holdfast volume and holdfast sediment content as well as other, currently undetermined factors.