The inventory, published in the Journal of Biogeography, concluded there are more than 1200 known marine- and- land species in the area. Scientists claim this is more species than are found in the Galapagos Islands, contradicting the long-held notion that waters around the poles have less biodiversity than those in more tropical and temperate climates.

 

The documented species include five that are new to science. The team spent 7 weeks aboard the RRS James Clark Ross in 2006, trawling and diving in the icy waters, where they say they observed more than 800 species living on the seabed.

   

The scientists claim the islands have little evidence of invasive species. And that the biodiversity has remained nearly unchanged in the 100 years the islands have been studied. But the temperature of the ocean around Antarctica as well as the atmospheric temperature on the Antarctic Peninsula has continued to increase, making it one of the most rapidly warming areas on the planet.

    

The research was done in conjunction with the Census of Marine Life, a ten-year international study which began in 2000 that aims to access and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine organisms in the world's oceans.