Professor Lloyd Peck: “Life in Antarctic seas: the unexpected, the unbelievable and the bizarre”

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• Professor Lloyd Peck, British Antarctic Survey, Wolfson College
• Friday 16 May 2025, 17:45-19:00
• Lee Hall, Wolfson College, Barton Road, Cambridge CB3 9BB.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Dr Kate Sanders.

Dive into the mysterious world of Antarctica’s Southern Ocean, where 20,000 species of marine life have evolved extraordinary adaptations to thrive in Antarctica’s icy waters over millions of years.

Time: 18:00 (refreshments available from 17:45)

Location: Lee Hall, Wolfson College

The event is open to all and free to attend – book your place here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/professor-lloyd-peck-life-in-antarctic-seas-tickets-1303138906549

Overview: As part of Wolfson’s 60th anniversary celebrations, hear from leading polar marine biologist and Wolfson Fellow, Professor Lloyd Peck, as he shares insights into life in Antarctica’s waters.

Surprisingly, the Southern Ocean around Antarctica is home to a vast array of biodiversity, with around 20,000 species of marine invertebrates and fish living there. The cold but very stable marine temperatures and extreme seasonality that we see today have existed in places around Antarctica for at least 20 million years. This has been long enough to allow life to evolve adaptations not seen elsewhere and many seem bizarre. There are giants, there are unique animals biologically different from anything anywhere else.

This presentation will describe the environment and the adaptations we have described so far and will discuss the how and the why they have come into existence.

Speaker: Professor Lloyd Peck is a scientist at the forefront of investigation into animal adaptations in extreme environments. He leads a dedicated, innovative team of polar biologists evaluating how species live in the coldest, driest, windiest, most isolated place on earth. Lloyd has had 20 field visits to Antarctica in his over 30 years studying life in polar regions, and over 25 years experience of media presentations and interviews. In 2024, Lloyd was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society—one of the most prestigious honours in science.

This talk is part of the Wolfson College Science Society series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Lee Hall, Wolfson College, Barton Road, Cambridge CB3 9BB
• Wolfson College Science Society

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