Animals have long rafted around the planet, but the southern continent was considered too remote, too isolated, and too cold for that to be a problem—until now.
Antarctica is, for the most part, cut off from the rest of the planet by swirling ocean currents, raging winds, and frigid temperatures. The continent’s physical isolation has long been thought to have kept it well protected from invasions of nonnative species. But the discovery of living creatures on kelp rafts in Antarctic waters—including some known to be invasive in other cold regions—shows that the physical barriers are not insurmountable and invasions could become more common as the climate warms. Read more in Hakai Magazine.