Research by Wageningen Marine Research and partners on the relationship between sea ice and the Southern Ocean food web investigates various components of that food web, including the so-called "top predators," or seabirds and marine mammals. To map their numbers and distribution, observers count these animals during Antarctic expeditions. During the latest expedition, on board the German icebreaker Polarstern in the southern autumn of 2022, an unusual species of whale was observed: the Arnoux's beaked whale.
