"Half way there"
Ellen Ryan-Colton, Honours Student

A rabid scavenger not dissimilar to our seagulls, this Skua that once lay in wait for penguin chicks now waits for decomposition. Of course, in Antarctica, with average summer temperatures rarely above zero, decomposition is a long time coming. This also makes for slow growth rates, and long-term experiments are required to detect even the smallest advance or retreat in growth. Currently the moss and lichen behind the Skua are being monitored every five years to detect impacts of climate change on these fragile and slow growing ecosystems. However, evident global warming may eventually see this Skua exit its current freeze - half way between flight and fodder.