Antarctic Ecosystems comprises 55 papers presented at the Fifth Symposium on Antarctic Biology held under the auspices of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) in Hobart, Australia, 29 August - 3 September, 1988. Both short- and long-term changes in ecosystems and community structures caused by natural and human factors were discussed to help understand the ecological processes taking place in a changing environment. The variability of ecological factors must be known for the development of realistic monitoring strategies and sound conservation practices.

Long- and Medium-Term Changes in Antarctic Environments

Significance of Evidence for Changes in the Antarctic Marine Environment Over the Last 5 Million Years
Temperature and Evolution: Southern Ocean Cooling and the Antarctic Marine Fauna
Environmental and Biological Variability in the McMurdo Ice Shelf Ecosystem
Signy Island as a Paradigm of Biological and Environmental Change in Antarctic Terrestrial Ecosystems
Colonization of Terrestrial Habitats - Organisms, Opportunities and Occurrence
Changes in Vegetation on Heard Island 1947-1987
Evidence for Change in the Chemistry of Maritime Antarctic Heywood Lake
Eutrophication and Vegetation Development in Maritime Antarctic Lakes
A Preliminary Study of Benthic Diatoms in Contrasting Lake Environments
Seasonal Changes in Sea Ice Zones and off South Georgia
Seasonal and Regional Variation in the Pelagial and its Relationship to the Life History Cycle of Krill
Primary Production and Consumption in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica
Seasonal and Geographic Variations in Sea Ice Community Structure of the Weddell Sea, Antarctica
Seasonal Variation in Ice Algal Assemblages in the Fast Ice Near Syowa Station in 1983/84
Seasonal Variation of Particulate Organic Matter Under the Antarctic Fast Ice and its Importance to Benthic Life
Seasonal Patterns of Ichthyoplankton Distribution and Abundance in the Southern Weddell Sea
The Distribution of Zooplankton in Relation to the South Georgia Shelf in Summer and Winter
Ecological and Population Changes in Sea Birds and Mammals
Ross Sea Emperor Penguin Breeding Populations Estimated by Aerial Photography
The Effect of Disturbance on the Heart Rate and Behaviour of Adélie Penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) During the Breeding Season
The Impact of Man on Adélie Penguins at Cape Hallett, Antarctica
Adélie and Chinstrap Penguins: Their Potential as Monitors of the Southern Ocean Marine Ecosystem
Foraging Patterns of Adélie Penguins During the Incubation Period
Long-Term Changes in Seabird and Seal Populations in the Southern Ocean
Annual Fluctuations in Productivity and Breeding Success of Adélie Penguins and Fulmarine Petrels in Prydz Bay, East Antarctica
Human Impacts and Ecological Constraints on Skuas
Long-Term Stability and Human Impact in Antarctic Skuas and Adélie Penguins
Influence of the Increasing Fur Seal Population on Wandering Albatrosses Diomedea exulans Breeding on Bird Island, South Georgia
Fluctuations in Breeding Populations of Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina at Stranger Point, King George Island 1980-1988
A Simulation of the Age Structure of Crabeater Seals in a Fluctuating Environment
Continental Estimates and Population Trends of Antarctic Ice Seals
Abundance of Antarctic Fur Seals in the South Shetland Islands, Antartica, During the 1986/87 Austral Summer
Humpback Whales, Area V. An Increase in Numbers Off Australia's East Coast
Actual and Potential Fisheries
The Population Biology of the Antarctic Scallop Adamussium colbecki (Smith 1902) at New Harbor, Ross Sea
Cephalopod Fauna of the Scotia Sea at South Georgia: Potential for Commercial Exploitation and Possible Consequences
The Feeding Ecology of Larval Fish in an Antarctic Fjord, with Emphasis on Champsocephalus gunnari
The State of Exploited Fish Stocks in the Atlantic Sector of the Southern Ocean
Changes in Fish Populations and Fisheries Around the Kerguelen Islands During the Last Decade
Human Impacts on Terrestrial and Marine Systems
Invertebrate Fauna and Their Role in the Degradation of Cattle Dung at Amsterdam Island
A Comparison of Airborne Alkaline Pollution Damage in Selected Lichens and Mosses at Casey Station, Wilkes Land, Antarctica
The Introduction and Establishment of the Diamondback Moth (Plutella xylostella L., Plutellidae) on Marion Island
The Role of Feral House Mice in Ecosystem Functioning on Marion Island
The Impact of Introduced Cats on the Predator-Prey Interactions of a Sub-Antarctic Avian Community
Marine Biota as Detection Agents for Low-Level Radionuclide Contamination in Antarctica and the Southern Hemisphere Oceans
Effect of Ultraviolet Radiation on Antarctic Marine Phytoplankton
International Agreements and the Conservation of Antarctic Systems
Orientation of Environmental Change Studies to the Conservation of Antarctic Ecosystems
Review
Antarctic Ecosystems: Change and Conservation. Review of the Fifth Symposium on Antarctic Biology
General Index
Genera and Species Index.