Every year the Royal Society of Biology runs a competition known as BioArtAttack 3D; the competition brief is to create a 3D model of any aspect of Biology which interests you, be it a piece of scientific equipment or a biological concept. 

Feeling a need to raise awareness of the challenges facing the ecosystems of the south pole due to global warming and the consequent climate change, I decided to make a model of Antarctica. My model aims to showcase Antarctica’s diverse ecosystem of organisms both on land and in the water, highlighting the need to protect this unique environment. The model, which is made to a scale of 1cm:1m, displays whales, seals, penguins, plants and protoctista side-by-side to  clearly portray how these organisms differ in size, shape and colour. Each species is presented in their ideal habitat e.g. Emperor penguins on sea ice, Adélie penguins on exposed rocky land, and the relative position of each marine mammal approximately represents the natural depth at which they swim. 

As for the science behind my entry: the food web of the organisms in this model shows how different organisms depend on each other for nutrition; conserving all species is vital for a functioning ecosystem, as a change in numbers in any trophic level would have repercussions for all organisms. 

The kelp and hair grass which are not featured in the food chain play a key role in providing oxygen to all organisms (as a product of photosynthesis).

Antarctica’s biodiversity has developed over millennia of adaptation and natural selection. Baleen whales like Minke whales have adapted to eating krill, so have fibrous plates instead of teeth, enabling them to filter krill out of water, whereas killer whales (actually belonging to the dolphin family) have teeth used to hunt prey. Penguins also display variety: Adélie penguins are the smallest in Antarctica (70cm tall) and breed only on exposed rock during summer, while Emperor penguins are the largest penguin species (120cm tall), breed in the midst of winter and may spend their entire lives on sea ice. 

Which brings me on to the painful truth: all of the species in the model are negatively impacted by human activities. Whaling in the 20th century drove blue whales to the brink of extinction; still critically endangered today, there are only about 25 000 left. Global warming threatens all organisms; krill breed and feed under sea ice, but in 2022 and 2023 warmer temperatures resulted in record lows for sea ice coverage, and what ice did form melted early, reducing krill numbers. Less krill means less food for penguins and whales. In 2022 up to 10 000 Emperor penguin chicks froze to death when the ice they were on melted earlier than usual, before they had developed waterproof feathers. Decreasing ice coverage also results in less sunlight being reflected from the Earth’s surface back into space (ice reflects up to 80% whereas ocean only 20%), meaning global warming will only worsen. Global warming and the resulting climate change must urgently be tackled to maintain Antarctica’s diverse ecosystem. 

To find out more about Antarctica, the Royal Society of Biology, and how you can help to protect Antarctica’s unique ecosystem, please visit the links below:

Antarctica (general information and how to help): https://www.antarctica.gov.au, https://wwf.org.uk, https://www.bas.ac.uk/ 

Royal Society of Biology: https://www.rsb.org.uk/ 

The results of the competition will be announced in March, but in the meantime I hope that my model may have piqued your interest in Antarctica, and that some of you are already planning pieces of art for next year’s BioArtAttack 3D. 

Maria, Upper V