Introduction to the special issue on the Life in Antarctica: Boundaries and Gradients in a Changing Environment (XIth SCAR Biology Symposium)

Scientific research in Antarctica has reached maturity in recent decades. The interest in issues related to knowledge about the southern polar regions has increased significantly among researchers from all scientific and technological disciplines. Among the various fields, biology comprises perhaps the highest concentration of related activities and encompasses the most diverse research topics. This increase in the research activity has to be translated in a greater coordination research efforts. The Scientific Committee of Antarctic Research has positioned itself as the focal point of this activity, with the organized symposiums being the best forum to share and report progress in various fields. This was the philosophy of XIth Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research Symposium held in Barcelona in July 2013. The different contributions of the symposium developed around a main topic: “Life in Antarctica: Boundaries and Gradients in a Changing Environment”. The symposium had the objective of linking the functional importance of land and water ecosystems with their bio-complexity under an ecosystem perspective. Such an approach will lead to a better understanding of Antarctic food webs, effects of human impacts (e.g., ozone hole, climate change, tourism), flexible boundaries and dynamic gradients in Antarctic ecosystems, as well as Antarctic marine biodiversity through its patterns, processes and trends.