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Antarctic reefs, like their tropical counterparts, harbour a high diversity of animal life. For the first time we will determine how global warming will affect food availability to the animals which comprise the structural components of the reefs.
The productivity of Antarctic waters may be controlled by the amount of iron. Experiments have shown that this is probably the case for phytoplankton but as yet we do not know if iron limits the growth of sea ice algae.
The Earths climate system is profoundly affected by interactions between sea ice, ocean and atmosphere at high southern latitudes.
Iron deficiency limits phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean. Processes controlling iron availability include uptake into phytoplankton, loss in sinking particles, and recycling by bacteria, but there is little information on the iron contents of these materials.
The mass sedimentation of large diatoms (single-celled algae) to the deep ocean removes carbon from the surface, playing a pivotal role in the Southern Oceans ability to modify the global climate.
Cold-adapted bacteria resident in the Antarctic express proteins that have unusual properties. To date, only one metal containing protein (metalloprotein) expressed by cold-loving bacteria has been preliminarily characterised.
Some scientists believe that Southern Beeches and associated vegetation grew on Antarctica 2-3 million years ago but the suggestion is met with scorn by others. The best locality known (so far) to test this idea is in the Prince Charles Mountains of the Australian Antarctic Territory.
The ecological sustainability of fisheries is one of the most important tasks facing management of the marine environment.