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SCAR Working Group on Biology

The Antarctic provides unique opportunities for the study of biological processes under unusual environmental conditions such as extreme cold and extreme seasonal and daily light cycles. These unusual environmental features offer good opportunities for studies of adaptations and strategies of organisms. The region is ideal for the study of dispersal and colonization across great expanses of ice and ocean. Relatively young terrestrial and inland water ecosystems, in which single species are often very abundant, can readily be studied. Their relative simplicity provides unusual opportunities for improving understanding of basic principles which may be applied more widely. The Southern Ocean with its pack ice zone is a most unusual and highly specialized habitat, with ecosystems of great intrinsic scientific interest and resources of commercial value, such as krill, squid and fish. Past exploitation of these resources, particularly the baleen whales, has caused perturbations that provide a unique large-scale experiment.

The Working Group has two specialized subcommittees:

For more information visit the Working Group on Biology website, or contact the Chief Officer or Secretary of the Group.

For current information see the Standing Scientific Group on Life Sciences information pages.