ABSTRACT
Since the Belgian Antarctic Expedition (1897-1899) to the
South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula when the
Belgica made the first systematic collection of benthic
animals, naturalists and others on Antarctic expeditions
have been continually fascinated by the unique fauna of
the Southern Ocean. Early expeditions used remote sampling
methods, a variety of grabs, dredges, trawls, etc., to sample
the benthos and consequently they provided limited
the fauna. It was not until the establishment of permanently
occupied research stations during and following the Inter-
national Geophysical Year that progress was made in
understanding the dynamics of the inshore benthic commu-
nities in particular, and the life history strategies and
physiology of the component species. At the same time
more quantitative techniques were being used to study the
benthic faunas of the continental shelf and deeper waters.
