Permafrost hosts a potentially large pool of microorganisms, which is supposed to be the only life forms known to have retained viability over geological time. Thawing of the permafrost renews their physiological activity and exposes ancient life to modern ecosystems (Gilichinsky et al, 2008). The adaptation mechanisms of microorganisms, at species or population level, make them susceptible to extreme environmental conditions. The survival of microorganisms in permafrost raises the question of what constitutes the limit for microbial life (Steven et al., 2006; Wagner 2008).

The EMPHASIS project focuses on the ecomorphology of the feeding apparatus of Notothenioidea, a suborder of teleost fishes endemic to the Southern Ocean that have colonized available ecological niches and habitats during their adaptive radiation. Ecomorphology is the science that investigates the reciprocal relationship between the environment and the forms of organisms, allowing insights into their evolutionary history, biodiversity, and relationships between form and function. The research activity involves a comparative analysis of the feeding apparatus in species representative of various phyletic lineages, and the study of the relationships between morphology, function and specific performance during feeding. Based on the results of the analysis, three-dimensional digitally supported models of the structures involved in feeding activity was developed.

Trophic interactions underlie coexistence mechanisms between species, define the functional role of specie within communities, affect biodiversity and bioaccumulation processes of heavy metal. Sea-ice dynamics, which at Terra Nova Bay is characterized by an extraordinary seasonality, drives interspecific interactions and the exchange of materials between ecosystem compartments. Indeed, the activation of the primary production after sea-ice break up opens alternative trophic pathways for consumers. The “next generation SRPs” represent a highly appropriate framework for the present project which follows the results obtained with the previous project ISOBIOTOX (PNRA 2013) and aims at (i) determine topological and functional metrics of sympagic and pelagic food webs at Terra Nova Bay under different conditions of sea-ice coverage along a distance gradient from the nearest open water polynya to areas were the seasonal sea-ice coverage persists longer; (ii) evaluate bioaccumulation and biomagnification of heavy metals in trophic sources at the base of the food web and in target species along food chains, including fishes of commercial interests and top predators, both in the presence and absence of sympagic and pelagic primary producers. High resolution food webs will be reconstructed by means of the simultaneous elemental and isotopic analysis of different elements (C and N) and the bioaccumulation of pollutants. The research program integrates complementary research approaches: (a) Elemental analysis coupled with mass spectrometry for stable isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N) in animal and vegetal tissues and dead organic matter, (b)analyses of heavy metals accumulation (Chromatography) in the constituent species of the Antarctic food web.

The efficacy and reliability of low-impact technologies were tested to document the occurrence and distribution of Antarctic toothfish in sea-ice covered coastal areas at Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea). Ancillary information, including main water column parameters (temperature, salinity, density, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, and turbidity), was collected at each sampling station.

The ANT-Biofilm research project (PNRA16_00105) concerned the study of microbial colonization processes in coastal environments of Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea), through the analysis of the microbial biofilm (bacteria, microalgae) and macrobenthic settlement on plastic substrates, with the aim of determining their possible variations caused by natural or anthropogenic disturbances (variations in salinity or the presence of contaminants, respectively). Microbial biofilms, which play a key role as a substrate for larval settlement of many species of invertebrates, constitute hot-spots of microbial diversity; and it is also known that the communities a microbial are capable of responding rapidly to changing environmental conditions, acting as potential "sentinels" of natural or anthropic perturbations that recently are threatening the Antarctic biota. During the first year of activity (XXXIII Italian expedition, November 2017) stainless steel structures were fixed on the seabed of Road Bay and Tethys Bay mounting panels of artificial substrates (Polyvinyl Chloride, PVC and PolyEthylene, PE) for colonization, which during the XXXIV expedition (November 2018) were retrieved in order to study the fouling formation processes at different levels of biological complexity (from microbial community including bacteria and microalgae to benthic invertebrates) and to evaluate their evolution in two coastal sites differently exposed to natural or anthropogenic forcings.

The Middle Trophic Level of the Ross Sea is still not well known but it mainly characterized by two species of Krill: Euphausia superba, Euphausia Crystallorophias. These species are a key food source for a wide variety of marine birds and mammals in the Ross Sea. For this reason, it's necessary to improve the knowledge on abundance and spatial distribution of MTL species, and their interconnection with environmental parameters to understand the main drivers of the reproductive success and migrations of these species. In this project, an acoustic survey, a synoptic net sampling and a CTD/XBT samplings were carried out following the standard protocols indicated by CCAMLR. Acoustic monitoring was performed at five frequencies: 38, 70, 120, 200 and 333 kHz. Targeted net samplings were performed to validate the preliminary species allocation of the aggregations observed on the echosounder screen. Biometric measures of krill samples was made on board and samples were taken for further analysis. CTD and XBT data was collected and elaborated to characterize water masses and to study the possible influences of the distribution of the main oceanographic parameters on MTL species.