If science books are on the wane, then thematic issues of journals seem very much to be in vogue. A healthy science community needs opportunities to compile, critique and synthesise understanding of key topics, and thereby identify those which have been satisfactorily resolved, those which have not, and those which are genuine priorities for future work. When done well attaining a breadth and depth which lies beyond individual review papers, this is a role which historically books, both monographs and edited volumes, have long and effectively fulfilled. However, with research funding, promotions and esteem for many scientists depending increasingly heavily on the impact factors of the journals in which they publish and the citations that their papers accrue, a heavy selection pressure has fallen against this approach. Short-sighted as this pressure undoubtedly is when applied so severely, one rather obvious response is to publish such work in the journals themselves. The solution is far from perfect, but well executed it should make for many stimulating thematic issues.

Antarctic Ecology: From Genes to Ecosystems. Part 2: Evolution, Diversity and Function is the second of two thematic issues published in Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society Series B, aiming to integrate new developments in understanding of the evolution and functioning of Antarctic ecosystems. The first (Antarctic ecology: from genes to ecosystems, Part 1 Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society Series B, 362, 3–166) was concerned with patterns of abundance and diversity and ecosystem function at large scales in Antarctic marine ecosystems, evidence for climate change, and its likely consequences in Antarctica. The present volume, edited by the same quartet, addresses “the evolution of the terrestrial and marine biota of the Antarctic, and explores the relationships between genome function, physiology and ecology”.

With nine main papers plus a brief introduction from the editors, this volume is perhaps a little shorter but not that different in size from a typical edited science book. It includes amongst the contributors several key active researchers in the field of Antarctic biology. Taking them simply in their sequence in the volume, these papers consist of reviews of the molecular evidence for the evolution of the Antarctic biota and determinants of its spatial distribution (Rogers); the ecophysiology of the Antarctic icefishes (Cheng & Dietrich); thermal specialization of Antarctic ectotherms (Pörtner et al.); molecular diversity and genomics of Antarctic marine microorganisms (Murray & Grzymski); biodiversity and ecology of Antarctic lakes (Laybourn-Parry & Pearce); impacts of global changes on above- and below-ground biotic interactions in the Antarctic Dry Valley systems (Wall); spatial and temporal variability of terrestrial Antarctic biodiversity (Chown & Convey); fisheries in the Southern Ocean (Kock et al.); and environmental forcing and marine predators in the Southern Ocean (Trathan et al.).

This coverage does not, and makes no claim to, provide a comprehensive overview of the evolution of the Antarctic biota, nor of the relationships between genome function, physiology and ecology in the Antarctic. Rather, it comprises a series of typically well-written, well-informed, and well-reasoned papers, conveying foremost the fascinating depth of current understanding of some key issues in Antarctic biology. They make good reading both for those directly concerned with Antarctic biology, and those less so, and would provide a nice basis for a graduate class in the topic. One imagines that some of these reviews will become standard citations for the issues in hand, and that those citations may well have long half-lives.

This said, to someone who is not deeply immersed in the Antarctic literature, these papers seem to beg one overriding question. Why does Antarctic biology sometimes seem to remain so disconnected from much of biology at large? Time and again, papers in this volume provide convincing arguments as to the wider implications of Antarctic science, particularly in the context of some of the pressing issues facing humanity (most obviously climate change). And yet, time and again, I found myself wondering why connections were not being drawn more strongly to the wider literature, and why only by reading a volume explicitly on Antarctic biology was I finding some of the best examples there seem to be to illustrate my lectures and writing on biodiversity at large. Perhaps addressing those issues would also make for a good thematic journal issue (if not an edited book).