Biogeography and Regional Classifications of Antarctica

In this chapter we refer to the ‘Antarctic’ in its widest sense. On land, we include the Antarctic continent and Peninsula, the various archipelagos of the Scotia arc, and the sub- and peri-Antarctic islands. In the marine environment, we include the entire Southern Ocean, formed by the provinces of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans that are south of the mean position of the Antarctic Polar Front. Within this vast area of the planet’s surface (Figure 15.1) are found a wide range of environments and biota. We also consider biological diversity, as defined by the Convention on Biological Diversity, to encompass ‘the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems’ (Anon, 2009).