Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML)

The Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) investigated the distribution and abundance of Antarctica’s marine biodiversity, how it is affected by climate change, and how change will alter the nature of the ecosystem services currently provided by the Southern Ocean for the benefit of mankind.

The CAML was a five-year project that focused the attention of the public on the ice-bound oceans of Antarctica during the International Polar Year (IPY) in 2007/08. Its objective was to study the evolution of life in Antarctic waters, to determine how this has influenced the diversity of the present biota, and to use these observations to predict how it might respond to future change.