Properties of the surface and bottom circulation in the north-west Weddell and south Scotia seas in the region 59–66°S, 36–46°W are examined. The bottom currents have been recorded at different heights from 5–800 m above the seabed, and surface velocities have been obtained from the drift tracks of ARGOS buoys deployed in ice floes. The tidal regime is mixed and the power of motions at inertial frequencies is very variable and most dominant in the Scotia Sea. Flow is influenced by topography, effects of which are seen in eddy features and the damping of inertial motions in some areas. The sea ice motion is shown to be influenced by the bottom topography at very low frequencies whilst tidal periodicities observed in the north-western Weddell Sea are below the level of the noise in the region of the study. In this area the higher frequency ice motion is mainly wind driven with little of the energy being transferred to the underlying deep water.

Southern elephant seals haulout on land to moult, breed and for a third, unknown reason, which we refer to as the winter haulout. We used long-term mark-recapture data to estimate participation levels in the winter haulout by southern elephant seals at Marion Island. There was no evidence that participation levels varied between cohorts or between years. Participation differed between sexes, with males being more likely to haulout in winter, except in the first year of life where participation was equal. Within each sex, both age and reproductive status influenced participation, but age seemed to be the most influential determinant. Generally, immature male individuals hauled out year after year in winter. The results did not allow speculation as to the purpose(s) of the winter haulout.

Physically weighing large marine mammals sequentially over time has presented researchers with a logistical challenge and has severely limited sample sizes. Using a well-established photogrammetry method we developed a simple mathematical method to calculate accurate mass measurements at specific stages in the life cycle of a top marine predator. Female southern elephant seals (n = 23) at Marion Island were sampled sequentially using photogrammetry and three-dimensional models (based on each photogrammetry project) were built for estimation of body mass. Simple equations were applied to obtain mass at critical instances in their life cycle. Marion Island elephant seal mass data was compared to data obtained from physically weighed elephant seals from King George, South Georgia and Macquarie islands. Females from Marion Island are smaller, but their percentage lactation mass loss is similar to females from these other populations. The similarity of percentage mass loss during lactation between different female populations illustrates the accuracy and practicality of the photogrammetric method over a temporal scale. Photogrammetric mass estimation can be used alongside datasets of physically weighed animals and can greatly benefit ecology and life history studies.

The biota of Antarctica is amazingly rich and highly endemic. The phylogenetics of notothenioid fishes has been extensively investigated through analyses of morphological characters, DNA sequences from mitochondrial genes, and single copy nuclear genes. These phylogenetic analyses have produced reasonably similar phylogenetic trees of notothenioids, however a number of phylogenetic questions remain. The nototheniid clade Trematomus is an example of a group where phylogenetic relationships remain unresolved. In this paper we revisit the phylogenetic relationships of Trematomus using both increased taxon sampling and an expanded dataset which includes DNA sequences from two mitochondrial genes (ND2 and 16S rRNA) and one single-copy nuclear gene (RPS7). The Bayesian phylogeny resulting from the analysis of the combined mitochondrial and nuclear gene datasets was well resolved and contained more interspecific nodes supported with significant Bayesian posteriors than either the mitochondrial or nuclear gene phylogenies alone. This demonstrates that the addition of nuclear gene sequence data to mitochondrial data can enhance phylogenetic resolution and increase node support. Additionally, the results of the combined mitochondrial and nuclear Bayesian analyses provide further support for the inclusion of species previously classified as Pagothenia and Cryothenia in Trematomus.

The data presented provides new information on the distribution of Antarctic squids and on the summer diet of the emperor penguins. The diet of 58 adult emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) on the fast ice of the Drescher Inlet, Vestkapp Ice Shelf (72°52′S, 19°25′W) in the eastern Weddell Sea was investigated. Prey consisted principally of squid, fish, krill, amphipods and isopods. Squids were identified by the lower beaks and allometric equations were used to estimate the squid biomass represented. Beaks occurred in 93% of the stomach samples. Each sample contained a mean of 27 beaks (range 1–206). Ninety-two percent of the squids could be identified by the lower beaks and belonged to four families (Onychoteuthidae, Psychroteuthidae, Neoteuthidae and Gonatidae). The most abundant squid was Psychroteuthis glacialis which occurred in 52 samples with lower rostral lengths (LRL) ranging from 1.4–7.2 mm. Forty-five samples contained Alluroteuthis antarcticus (LRL range 1.8–5.8 mm), 17 Kondakovia longimana (LRL range 4–12.1 mm), and four Gonatus antarcticus (LRL range 4.1–6.1 mm). In terms of biomass K. longimana was the most important species taken by the penguins comprising 50% of total estimated squid wet mass (245348 g) in 1990 and 48% in 1992 (154873 g). However, if only fresh beaks were considered for estimations of squid consumption, i.e. beaks that have been accumulated for not longer than 5–6 days in the stomachs, squid diet was of minor importance. Then total squid wet mass accounted for only 4809 g in 1990 and 5445 g in 1992 which implies that one penguin took c.30 g squid d−1 with P. glacialis and A. antarcticus being the most important by mass. The prey composition suggests that emperor penguins take squid at the steep slope regions of the eastern Weddell Sea.

A total of 69 diatom taxa, belonging to 24 genera were recorded from thirteen freshwater and moss samples collected in the Antarctic Peninsula region. Marine taxa comprised 26%. Cluster analysis revealed three assemblages. The Nitzschia acidoclinata assemblage occurs on wet mosses; the Luticola muticopsis assemblage is found near penguin rookeries whereas the Pinnularia krookii–Pinnularia microstauron var. elongata assemblage occurs on drier places such as dry mosses and drying mud.

A low diversity plant macrofossil assemblage described from the northern section of Fossilryggen, Vestfjella, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, is dominated by matted leaf impressions of Glossopteris sp. cf. G. communis Feistmantel and Glossopteris sp. cf. G. spatulata Pant & Singh, and in situ finely branched Vertebraria indica Royle rootlets. Equisetalean stems, rhizomes and leaf whorls (Phyllotheca australis Brongniart emend. Townrow), isolated seeds, scale-leaves, and fragmentary gymnosperm axes represent minor components of the assemblage. The fossils are preserved in fine-grained, floodbasin sediments and dark palaeosols. Although lacking definitive biostratigraphical indices, the flora is considered to represent a Middle Permian assemblage based principally on lithological and palynological correlation with the southern section at Fossilryggen and broad similarities to mid-Permian plant assemblages elsewhere in Gondwana.

We adopted a statistical approach to identify environmental parameters which might be important in structuring the bacterial community in soils on the Antarctic Peninsula. An assessment of soil bacterial community composition at six environmentally distinct locations was made using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) profiling. All locations are near to Rothera Point, on Reptile Ridge and adjacent islands in Ryder Bay, off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, and were selected to maximize the range of environmental variability easily accessible from Rothera Station. A range of environmental variables was determined, and a Spearman rank correlation test was used to link the community structure and environmental variables. We demonstrated that the taxonomic distribution of the soil bacteria among the six study sites was relatively even, especially among the islands within Ryder Bay, although each location possessed a distinct community structure. Significant differences in the environmental conditions and soil chemical parameters allowed us to identify differences in location and soil pH as the environmental variables that could most probably explain the soil bacterial community patterns. This observation is consistent with an increasing number of studies from both Arctic and Antarctic locations, and will contribute to the design of future parameter-specific studies to test the potential functional significance of pH to the Antarctic soil bacterial community.

Recent work has highlighted the sensitivity of marine-terminating glaciers to decadal-scale changes in the ocean–climate system in parts of East Antarctica. However, compared to Greenland, West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula, little is known about recent glacier change and potential cause(s), with several regions yet to be studied in detail. In this paper, we map the terminus positions of 135 glaciers along the coastline of Victoria Land, Oates Land and George V Land from 1972–2013 at a higher temporal resolution (sub-decadal intervals) than in previous research. These three regions span a range of climatic and oceanic conditions and contain a variety of glacier types. Overall, from 1972–2013, 36% of glaciers advanced, 25% retreated and the remainder showed no discernible change. On sub-decadal timescales, there were no clear trends in glacier terminus position change. However, marine-terminating glaciers experienced larger terminus position changes compared with terrestrial glaciers, and those with an unconstrained floating tongue exhibited the largest variations. We conclude that, unlike in Greenland, West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula, there is no clear glacier retreat in the study area and that most of the variations are more closely linked to glacier size and terminus type.

A preliminary palynological study of Beacon Supergroup sedimentary rocks exposed at Milorgfjella, Dronning Maud Land, has yielded a relatively rich and well preserved palynoflora dominated by spores and pollen grains, but also including acritarchs and green algae. The palynoflora is dominated by the pterophyte spores Punctatisporites gretensis, Punctatisporites parvus, Granulatisporites spp., Microbaculispora tentula Horriditriletes spp. and Verrucosisporites andersonii, and the gymnosperm pollen grains Plicatipollenites spp. and Cannanoropollis spp. Also present are the lycopod spore Jayantisporites pseudozonatus, the praecolpate pollen grain Marsupipollenites striatus and the monocolpate pollen grain Cycadopites cymbatus. The palynoflora indicates freshwater conditions or, at least, a major freshwater influence on the depositional environment. Comparison of the palynoflora with others from Gondwana suggests an Early Permian (Asselian–Sakmarian) age.

A cytogenetic study on the bovichtid species Cottoperca gobio from the Magellan Strait and Pseudaphritis urvillii from Tasmania showed both species have a plesiomorphic number of chromosomes (2n=48). However, C.gobio has a more conservative karyotype composed entirely of acrocentric chromosomes (Fundamental Number=48); the presence of two metacentric pairs in P. urvilli (FN=52) makes this species karyologically more derived. The differences in the number of chromosomal arms, and the chromosomal location of the nucleolar organizer regions indicate karyological divergence in the two separating stocks from which C.gobio and P.urvillii originated. During the diversification of this notothenioid family, probably coincident with the fragmentation of Gondwana, the stock that split off with the Australian Plate gave rise to the Tasmanian species and experienced more chromosomal modifications than the stock from which C. gobio is derived. The pattern of constitutive heterochromatin suggests a possible homology between a pair of chromosomes in bovichtids and other notothenioids.

Sub-Antarctic Marion Island was the site of extensive volcanism as well as glaciation during both the Quaternary and the Holocene. Initial reconstructions suggested a link between deglaciation and the initiation of faulting which, in turn, facilitated lava eruptions during the interglacials. However, our reassessment of the faulting, volcanic rock, and palaeoglacier distribution indicate that these original interpretations were erroneous. Features thought to be due to faulting are shown to be erosional scarps and this significantly changes interpretations of former glacier distribution. Further, the loss of the former ice cap has revealed new information on former glaciers and their flow directions, thereby allowing reconstruction of palaeoglaciers. Our new reconstruction fits with information from invertebrate genetic mapping that suggest some lava outcrops were nunataks and, therefore, refuges during the Last Glacial period. The new findings of glacial landforms in areas previously covered by snow suggest there was a significant ice advance during the Little Ice Age. Although Holocene volcanic rocks overlie and mask much of the glacial evidence, it has been possible to develop a proposed new reconstruction for glaciation, which is presented together with some of the implications.

Satellite infra-red imagery and meteorological data suggest the presence of winter open water (polynya) in the coastal pack ice to the north and west of the Brunt Ice Shelf. Satellite imagery, although only available for a limited number of occasions, provides evidence for the polynya during the austral winter of 1991. Indirect meteorological observations from the British Antarctic Survey's Halley station (75° 36′S, 26° 42′W) provide very strong supporting evidence of open water to the west of the ice shelf in previous years.

The occurrence of fish in the diet of the Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) at Bird Island, South Georgia was investigated by analysis of fish otoliths in scats (faeces) collected during late May to early November 1983. Of the 55 scats examined, 49 contained fish remains, and 45 contained fish otoliths. Ten fish species were represented by 415 otoliths, and 33 otoliths were too digested to be identified unequivocally. Fish size was estimated from otolith size based on published allometric equations. Four coastal notothenioid fishes dominated the fish component of the diet: Champsocephalus gunnari and Gobionotothen gibberifrons each comprised about 40% of the total fish mass; Chaenocephalus aceratus was ranked third by mass and the smaller Lepidonotothen larseni occurred in one quarter of the scats but was of lower importance in terms of mass. The length-frequency distribution of C. gunnari landed by the commercial fishery in October 1982 to June 1983 is similar to that which comprised the bulk of the diet in the present study. Compared with recent studies on the fish component of the diet in the literature, the dominance of C. gunnari is generally similar, however, there was a greater proportion of G. gibberifrons during the 1983 winter and spring than reported for recent winters.

The diet of Antarctic salps was elucidated by investigating their gut content using automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) and 454-pyrosequencing. Salp samples were collected during the Lazarev Sea Krill Study in the western Weddell Sea (summer 2005–06 and 2007–08, autumn 2004 and winter 2006). Two salp species, Salpa thompsoni and Ihlea racovitzai, both occur in the Southern Ocean and can overlap geographically and seasonally. We provide evidence that, despite the non-selective feeding mechanism, the two co-occurring salp species might have different niches within a habitat. ARISA-patterns of 93 gut content samples revealed strong differences between the two salp species, even at the same sampling site. These differences were confirmed by 454-pyrosequencing of the V4-18S rDNA of ten salps. The pyrosequencing data indicate that flagellates, in particular dinophyceae, constitute a high proportion of the sequence reads identified in the gut content of both salp species. However, within the dinophyceae, differences in the read composition were detected between the two salp species. This supports the findings of a previous study where fatty acid signatures indicate a flagellate-based diet, even though microscopic analyses identified diatoms as the dominant component of salp gut contents.

The scavenging megafauna of the South Georgia and Shag Rocks slope in the south-west Atlantic (625–1519 m) were investigated using autonomous baited camera systems. Two surveys were conducted: the first in 1997 (13 deployments) used a conventional 35 mm stills camera with a 200 J flash, whilst the second in 2000 (15 deployments) used low-light digital video cameras. The scavenging community responded rapidly to the arrival of bait on the sea floor and was dominated by stone crabs (Lithodidae) and toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides). Stone crabs took up residence around the bait until it was consumed, with a maximum number of 108 in the field of view after four hours. The most frequently observed crab species was Paralomis formosa. Paralomis spinosissima, Neolithodes diomedea and Lithodes sp., were also observed. Toothfish were the most frequently observed scavenging fish and were seen during all but one deployment, typically making brief visits (1–2 min) to the bait, but appeared startled by the flash in the 1997 survey. Labriform swimming (sculling with the pectoral fins) was the principal form of locomotion in toothfish (0.22 body lengths (BL) sec−1), but they were capable of more rapid sub-carangiform (using caudal trunk and fin) motion (3 BL sec−1) when startled. Other scavenging fish observed included the blue-hake Antimora rostrata, grenadiers (Macrourus spp.), skates, liparids and zoarcids.

Conservation of the high seas marine environment poses a significant challenge to policy-makers and managers. Marine conservation efforts are often hindered by the lack of data and the difficulties in addressing multiple, and typically conflicting uses. The majority of extant Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are in coastal or tropical regions within national jurisdiction. Conservation of high seas MPAs has emerged on the international agenda as a critical issue requiring the application of novel approaches, international cooperation and political will. Knowledge and understanding of the marine environment and data on marine biodiversity are all typically limited for the high seas, and the use of surrogates to assist in the identification of areas of high conservation value is one possible mechanism to address and potentially overcome these limitations. Drawing upon a database spanning more than 20 years and containing approximately 140 000 records of seabird sightings at sea, this study assesses the potential use of seabirds as surrogates for marine biodiversity in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean. At-sea ranges, species diversity and the distributions of endangered species may be appropriate selectors or filters to identify areas with high conservation values. Integrating policy with science provides an appropriate mechanism to identify and prioritise MPAs in the Southern Ocean.

Reaction to the presence of prey, after visual stimulation, was tested in the Antarctic nototheniid fish Notothenia neglecta Nybelin under four different simulated Antarctic seasons - photoperiods of 24 hours light, 22 light/2 darkness, 12 light/12 darkness, and 24 hours darkness. Live Lepidonotothen nudifrons were used for visual stimulation, with exclusion of chemical and mechanical signals. The photoperiod showed significant correlation with the number of individuals stimulated and with the latency time of the first response to the presence of prey, but not with the number of attacks or pursuits. However, there were more pursuits in darkness than in light. Notothenia neglecta presumably perceive a large spectrum of wavelengths, because they had the shortest reaction time under red light, used to simulate darkness. The tests proved that N. neglecta are capable of detecting prey using only vision, in all seasons of the year, but that the optimal reactions occur in a photoperiod corresponding to the Antarctic autumn or spring.

During a three month research cruise near the island of South Georgia, sea surface temperature (SST) increased from c. 2°C to over 4°C. Satellite derived SST show that this corresponded to a rapid southward and eastward shift of isotherms in the northern Scotia Sea, which could have resulted from changes in the wind field. At the same time, observation from the ship of seabirds close to the island indicated changes in the abundance of some non-resident species, whereas resident breeders from South Georgia, such as black-browed albatrosses (Diomedea melanophris) and prions (Pachyptila spp.) which were foraging locally, were present at consistent density in both halves of the survey. Blue petrels (Halobaena caerulea) left the area after breeding, so were associated only with the low water temperatures during the first part of the cruise. In contrast, great shearwaters (Puffinus gravis) and soft-plumaged petrels (Pterodroma mollis) migrated into the area later in the survey. These birds were almost certainly non-breeders which were feeding in the warmer water which had moved towards the island.

A sedimentary sequence, c. 5–6 km thick, extending from the Kimmeridgian–Upper Eocene crops out in the James Ross Island area, northern Antarctic Peninsula. This succession is the most important onshore Late Cretaceous–Tertiary sequence in Antarctica and is probably one of the most significant Cretaceous sequences in the Southern Hemisphere. However, the understanding of the geological and palaeontological evolution of the area has been limited by an incomplete knowledge of the biostratigraphy of this region. Palynological studies are providing a finer resolution biostratigraphical zonation scheme than previously possible. This paper reviews the stratigraphy of the basin fill succession and provides a framework for the papers published in this Special Issue.