Where Antarctic Animals Actually Live: The Ocean, Not the Ice

Over 90% of Antarctic animal biomass lives in the Southern Ocean, not on the continent. The icy landmass is a desert; the sea is a nutrient-rich engine.

Marine Dominance

• Krill (Euphausia superba): Keystone species; ~500 million tonnes. Food for everything.
• Whales: Blue, fin, humpback, minke, orca—migrate south to gorge on krill.
• Seals: Crabeater (most abundant large mammal), Weddell, leopard, Ross, elephant, fur seals. Breed on pack ice / fast ice.
• Penguins: Emperor, Adélie, chinstrap, gentoo. Breed on coastal ice/rock; feed at sea.
• Fish: Antarctic cod, icefish (antifreeze proteins), toothfish.
• Birds: Petrels, albatrosses, skuas, sheathbills—pelagic, nest on subantarctic islands.

Terrestrial Life (Minimal)

• Invertebrates: Nematodes, rotifers, tardigrades, springtails, mites—in soils, moss beds.
• Plants: Two flowering plants (Antarctic hair grass, pearlwort), mosses, lichens, algae.
• No native land vertebrates.

Why the Ocean?

• Upwelling brings nutrients → phytoplankton bloom → krill swarms.
• Sea ice platform for breeding/resting.
• Land is too cold, dry, dark (winter) for complex life.

Antarctica is a marine ecosystem with a frozen lid.