ABSTRACT
Because they are more obvious components of the Southern
Ocean than are fish, the seabirds have attracted considerable
attention. Due to this and the large colonies of penguins that
are found round the margins of the continent and on the
surrounding islands, there is the popular view that the
Southern Ocean supports extraordinarily abundant and
dense populations of a great variety of seabirds. Certainly,
large numbers of seabirds congregate in certain areas in the
summer for breeding. In the winter, however, few birds are to
be seen around the continent and in the pack ice zone, and
even in the summer, few birds are encountered in parts of the
open ocean. Nevertheless, the seabirds are an important
component of the Southern Ocean ecosystem and have a
locally significant impact as predators on krill, other
zooplankton, and larval fishes.
