The Southern Ocean is probably the last frontier in the field of marine biology. This huge oceanic region is the scene of a very efficient production system yielding high levels of biomass. Within the Southern Ocean food chain the important and conspicuous role played by Antarctic krill is well documented but there is another group of key animals, rarely conspicuous and much less well understood that play a most important intermediate role in the food chain. Although field scientists working in the Southern Ocean have observed an abundant and diverse squid fauna in the diet of vertebrate predators, Antarctic squid have seldom been seen alive. This is in contrast to the situation in seas at lower latitudes where schools of neritic and oceanic squid are regularly encountered at the surface. Marine scientists have rarely been successful in catching Antarctic squid, using either towed nets or jigs, but it has been estimated that standing stock biomass of these organisms in the Southern Ocean may be as high as 100 million tonnes based on an estimate of 30 million tonnes consumed by vertebrate predators. This is clearly a significant resource when compared to the annual catch of the world's fisheries (mostly finfish) which, according to current FAO statistics, amounts to some 100 million tonnes.

There has been much adverse comment over recent years, especially by those with little practical Antarctic knowledge, of the apparent need to establish a national Antarctic station in order to gain Consultative Status at Treaty Meetings. Why, cry all these querulous voices, can't you co-operate more effectively, stop establishing new national stations and share your stations? Why are there not international rather than national stations in the Antarctic — surely that should be the aim of the Treaty Parties?

Turning international agreement into national law has never been rapid or simple. Each country has its own parliamentary procedures, its own legal system and its own cultural interpretation of what the words in the international agreement actually mean. Last but not least, the importance attached to implementing Treaty law is clearly different between countries, as the amazingly patchy implementation of existing Treaty Recommendations shows.

It is hard to divorce most human activities, including science, completely from politics. Politics is about perceived certainty whilst science is about doubt – they make strange bedfellows. Politicians detest probabilities whilst scientists abhor the absolute. Nowhere is the relationship between politics and science more publicly developed than in the Antarctic Treaty System. In the only continent devoted to peace and science it might be supposed that, after more than thirty years, the role of science would be both more robust and more pivotal in decision-making than elsewhere in the world. So it appears at present but will it remain so?

The first systematic sampling in the Southern Ocean to capture cephalopods took place 120 years ago aboard HMS Challenger. Over the next century taxonomic knowledge was advanced by expeditions including the Mission du Cap Horn (France), the Valdivia Deep Sea Expedition (Germany), the Discovery expeditions (UK) the Eltanin (USA) and Academic Knipovitch (USSR). Over the last decade Southern Ocean cephalopod research has at last progressed beyond the descriptive phase and is rapidly joining other fields of Antarctic marine biology in its concerns with population biology and trophic systems, Although much taxonomic work remains to be done, ecological studies on the role of cephalopods in the diet of predators has been facilitated by advances in the identification of cephalopod beaks, development of opening-closing nets has allowed fine-scale distribution studies, and as methods for the study of growth, diet and biochemical genetics have advanced, so these have been applied to Southern Ocean cephalopods.

The vertical distribution of physicochemical parameters and Chl a at a fixed station in Admiralty Bay (King George Island, South Shetland Islands) was recorded over 73 days during the summer of 1988/89. Temporal variations in Chl a and nutrient stocks in the euphotic zone were associated with changes in the wind/hydrological regime. Northerly winds of late December and early January moved the surface layers towards the outerbay, during which time the chlorophyll stocks remained low in the euphotic zone. Turbulence induced by southerly winds in the second half of January resuspended sediments and benthic diatoms in the shallow (0–20 m) inner inlets of the bay, increasing turbidity and nutrient concentrations at the surface. During the first half of February wind relaxation caused the mass sedimentation of previously resuspended benthic diatoms increasing chlorophyll and phaeopigments in the subsurface layers in deeper sections of the bay. Although turbulence limits phytoplankton biomass accumulation in open waters of the Antarctic, it may have a positive effect (increasing chlorophyll biomass of benthic origin) in coastal pelagic environments during late summer.

Middle Eocene land mammals from La Meseta Formation, Seymour (Marambio) Island are reviewed. A taxonomically diverse fossil land-vertebrate assemblage with small and medium-size mammals has been recovered from four localities. The depositional setting is shallow marine and most of the mammal-bearing beds are in reworked, moderate to high energy subtidal facies. The characteristics of these mammals not only confirm but also strengthen the biogeographical relationships between southern South America (Patagonian Province) and the Antarctic Peninsula during the Paleogene and rule out the possibility of a major barrier between these areas. The Antarctic ungulates (Astrapotheria and ?Litopterna) are plesiomorphics in retaining low crowned cheek teeth and are more similar to those from the Pancasamayoran local faunas of southern South America (Patagonia).

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.

Melt waters cover c. 20% of the McMurdo Ice Shelf during the austral summer. The streams, ponds, and lakes up to 104 m2 in area occur in two types of terrain systems with differing morphological, chemical, and biological characteristics: pinnacled ice (PI) areas with sparse sediment cover, low relief, and little biomass; and ice-cored moraine (ICM) areas with 10–20 cm sediment cover, hummocky topography with up to 20 m relief, occasional mirabilite deposits, and dense benthic cyanobacterial mats. Pond water composition in the two areas is markedly different. PI area melt waters have low salinities, <2270 mg 1−1 total dissolved salts (TDS), and near neutral pH, mean = 7.8. The chemical composition of PI waters closely follows that of diluted sea water, suggesting that the release of ions from the sea ice matrix of the ice shelf is the major solute source. In contrast, ICM area melt waters have a wide range of salinities, up to 60 400 mg 1−1 TDS and alkaline pH, mean = 9.3. The chemical composition in c. 40% of the ICM ponds investigated did not resemble that of sea water, but had higher relative abundances of SO2−4, Na+, K+ and Ca2+. Leaching of local salt deposits, particularly mirabilite, weathering of surficial sediments, and morphological features promoting closed-basin brine evolution are possible contributing factors to the enrichments.

Try to imagine a lecture hall in King's College filled with zoologists discussing the lives and ways of cephalopods of the Southern Ocean. A few years ago such a dedicated gathering would have been unimaginable for any Southern Ocean invertebrate save for the ubiquitous euphausid, Euphausia superba. How things have changed under the influences of a major international squid fishery and international collaborative research programmes.

Values of attenuation coefficient, Kd(λ), for five visible wavelengths are reported for 14 sites around South Georgia and the Bransfield Strait, in the Southern Ocean. The mean chlorophyll-plus-phaeopigment concentrations in the upper 30 m of the water column ranged from 0.32–6.633 mg m−3 with one particularly high mean value of 31 mg m−3. Partition of attenuation between chlorophyll (Kc) and other factors in the water column (Ko) indicated that the spectral character of Ko in the Bransfield Strait was consistent with absorption by non chlorophyll-like pigments (Gelbstoff). Values were significantly different between the two areas. Values of the specific attenuation coefficient due to pigment concentration (Kc) were small compared to temperate values. These data support other studies in suggesting that the application of remotely sensed ocean colour data to global biogeochemical surveys requires the development of regional algorithms.

Soils and the underlying permafrost from undisturbed sites and sites that had been disturbed by construction activities at Marble Point and Pram Point in the McMurdo Sound region were sampled from excavated pits and drill cores. Gravimetric moisture (ice) contents and particle size distribution were determined. Volumetric moisture contents were calculated from these results. At undisturbed sites soil moisture contents within the active layer (to c. 60 cm depth) were low and ranged from 0.5% by weight at the soil surface to 10% above the permafrost. The permafrost was generally completely saturated with ice, but sometimes contained considerable excess ice, with ice contents rising as high as 80% by volume. At disturbed sites, soil moisture contents within the active layer were similar to those of the undisturbed sites (generally <10% by weight) but within the permafrost, moisture contents were lower and less variable than in the undisturbed sites, rarely exceeding 20% by weight. The release of considerable quantities of water from the permafrost as a result of land disturbance during construction activities caused stream flows, soil shrinkage, land slumping and salinisation, resulting in significant permanent environmental damage. At Marble Point there has been no significant re-establishment of icy permafrost in the disturbed soils in the 30 years since land disturbance occurred.

Only one living specimen of Adamussium colbecki was found amongst the shells of this species collected in the Lazarev and Weddell Seas, and those of the limpet Nacella cf. concinna from three locations in the southern Weddell Sea. In order to explain this peculiarity four hypotheses are discussed. The possibility that the shells belong to living deep-water populations is in contradiction to the high number of trawl samples taken in the area and the abundance of empty shell material. 14C dates show the shells are recent, thus excluding the possibility that the shells belong to autochthonous fossil populations exposed on the seafloor. Lateral transport of living specimens or shells over long distances by marine currents or by ice is unlikely due to their state of preservation and the water circulation pattern. The most likely explanation is that the shells are allochthonous, transported only over short distances by marine currents from adjacent areas underneath floating ice shelves where both species have living populations.

No information is available on the embryonic development of Southern Ocean cephalopods. Estimations of developmental times can only be made by extrapolation using data from other geographical areas. Based on known relationships between environmental temperature and embryonic development time, it appears that below 5°C even the smallest squid eggs measuring 0.6–1.0 mm in diameter need one to two months to develop to hatching. At c. 2°C, the embryonic development of these small eggs would probably cover between three and five months. Very large octopod eggs are known to develop over time spans of at least one year. Protection of the developing embryos either by long-lasting capsules laid at appropriate spawning sites, or by active ‘brooding’ (incirrate octopods) is required for embryonic survival and hatching success. The physiological conditions controlling the onset of hatching at very low temperatures are unknown; postponement of hatching appears to be common in cold waters.

Studies in a large (30000 km2) sampling grid around Elephant Island, Antarctica, during January–March of four successive years (1990–1993) have shown that one of the water types within the sampling area (Drake Passage water) shows low chlorophyll a in surface waters and a subsurface maximum between 50 and 80 m depth. Ancillary data (beam attenuation, in situ chl a fluorescence) support the view that the extracted chl a values actually do represent increased phytoplankton biomass at depth; other data (oxygen concentrations and upwelling radiance at 683 nm) suggest that the phytoplankton within this subsurface maximum layer are photosynthetically active and do not represent a senescent, sinking population of cells. Such deep chl a maxima were found only in Drake Passage waters; in the other four water types sampled, chl a concentrations were maximal in surface waters and decreased with depth. Phytoplankton biomass and activity in Drake Passage waters is suggestive of a nutrient limitation for phytolankton growth in surface waters. Nutrient concentrations of N, P, and Si were high throughout the euphotic zone at all stations, and hence it is unlikely that any macronutrient would be limiting. The data presented in this paper support the hypothesis of Martin and colleagues that availability of Fe may limit phytoplankton biomass in pelagic Antarctic waters, but not in coastal waters where Fe concentrations are relatively high. All other reports on the effects of Fe on Antarctic phytoplankton have utilized deck incubations from which it is difficult to extrapolate such evidence of nutrient limitation to in situ conditions. Our data represent the first in situ evidence linking Fe limitation to the paradox of high macronutrient concentrations and low phytoplankton biomass in Antarctic pelagic waters.

Quantitative and semi-quantitative samples of phyto- and zoobenthic organisms were collected by SCUBA diving at five stations along a depth transect from 0.5–16 m on the shallow hard bottoms off Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea, Antarctica. The benthic associations were dominated by two macroalgal species (Iridaea cordata and Phyllophora antarctica) and by few animal taxa (mainly polychaetes, molluscs and peracarid crustaceans). Distribution at the community and species levels revealed a well-defined zonation pattern as a function of depth, governed mainly by sea ice scouring and melting. Zonation of vagile fauna was also affected by the effects of covering and architecture of the two dominant macroalgae. Species richness and diversity were higher in the Phyllophora-associated community, where habitat complexity and sheltering were higher. The highest faunal abundance (over 82 000 ind.m−2) and biomass (macroalgae and fauna wet weight 2392 g m−2) were recorded at 2 m depth in association with the Iridaea covering, where the harsher environmental conditions select a few taxa. The biomass values, even if underestimates of the whole community standing crop, are among the highest recorded in shallow austral biotopes. An autoecological and demographic analysis of the most abundant animal species revealed for some species (e.g. Laevilitorina antarctica and Paramoera walkeri) a quite complex population structure with up to three size classes, including juveniles. In some species, the cohort of juveniles showed a well-defined depth preference probably related to sheltering by the macroalgae. As a whole, the species analyzed showed various and contrasting reproductive strategies, despite the fact that the environmental conditions along the transect were relatively similar and quite selective.

Fifteen specimens of Loligo gahi caught within the Falkland Islands Interim Conservation and Management Zone during March 1988 were subject to genetic analysis using horizontal starch gel electrophoresis. Comparison of allele frequencies at 22 clearly resolving putative enzyme loci showed these animals to exhibit a degree of genetic differentiation from samples of Loligo forbesi and Loligo vulgaris vulgaris (I = 0.19 and 0.22 respectively) greater than that normally expected between congeneric species. The degree of difference was of the order typically exhibited between members of different but confamilial genera, for example as here between Loligo forbesi and Alloteuthis subulata (I = 0.22). It is therefore concluded that Loligo gahi should no longer be regarded as a member of the genus Loligo. Genetic analysis of further species is necessary to clarify whether or not Loligo gahi should, as has been suggested on morphological grounds, be united in a separate genus with other American myopsid species also currently ascribed to the genus Loligo.

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.

Classification of 162 sample plots of lichen vegetation from the Argentine Islands region, Antarctica, yielded two main groups, the Usnea complex and the Mastodia-Rinodina complex, comprising four and six subordinate communities, respectively. Communities of the Usnea complex typically occur in inland sites with steep slopes, characterized by low chloride, ammonia and phosphate concentrations. Communities of the Mastodia-Rinodina complex occur close to the shore and in areas occupied by birds, where concentrations of chloride, ammonia and phosphate were relatively high. Within each vegetation complex species composition is related to factors indicating nutrient status (chloride and ammonia concentration, distance from the sea), as well as to variables indicating different microclimatic conditions (elevation, aspect, exposure, moisture, and gradient). In canonical correspondence analyses of the data a large part of species variation could not be explained by the environmental variables studied (elevation, gradient, slope aspect, distance from the sea, direction of the sea, presence of guano, exposure, moisture, chloride, ammonia, phosphate and nitrate concentrations). It is suggested that temporal variability in mineral concentrations and the lack of information on differences in length of the growing season at the sample sites are, to a large extent, responsible for this.

The macroinfauna at depths 30–115 m was sampled in March–April 1989, c. two months after an oil spill that resulted from the grounding of the Bahia Paraiso. Stations consisted of the oil-spill site and a comparable control location, and two historical sites previously sampled in 1971. The historical sites were located at two distinct points along a known continuum of increasing physical stability with depth, attributed to disturbances from glacial calving. Macroinfaunal assemblages at most stations were characterized by very high densities and numbers of taxa. There were no significant differences (P<0.05) between the oil-spill and control sites in numbers of individuals, species, or families; nor were there any major differences in dominant fauna or overall community composition. The absence of a detectable impact on the fauna is consistent with results of hydrocarbon analyses, which showed that subtidal sediments were nearly devoid of contamination emanating from the Bahia Paraiso. The assemblage at the shallower of the two historical sites, however, showed a substantial change over the 18-yr period between studies. This change consisted of a shift toward a more species-rich and abundant macroinfauna characteristic of the more physically stable parts of the harbour. This change may be related to the fact that the glacier face near this site has retreated c. 250 m over the last 20 yrs, resulting in less physical disturbance of the adjacent seafloor.