This summer, the 60th Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (ECA) organized by the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACh) became a real milestone in the history of Chilean presence in the White Continent, a deployment in which the University of Chile has been actively involved and has always taken the lead in major national research people. Most of the Casa de Bello members participating in the expedition also belong to the new Millennium BASE Institute (Biodiversity of Antarctic and Subantarctic Ecosystems), a center led by the University of Chile whose goal is to understand Antarctic and subantarctic ecosystems. Biodiversity assessment and prediction of climate change impacts.
Elie Poulin, scholar at the Faculty of Science of the University of Chile and director of the Milenio Base Research Institute, emphasized that between 2023 and 2024 “more than 30 researchers have been deployed in this field. Dedicated to the study of marine invertebrates, birds, plants, insects, The microbial and legal biodiversity community in Antarctica has been conducting research on the White Continent and collecting highly relevant data.”
The scientific diver and Antarctic explorer also said that collaboration and alliances are fundamental to the work, which aims to “promote public discussion about conservation, evolution, oceans, ecosystem protection, and Antarctica’s role as a key part of Earth’s ecology.” . Biodiversity. “This year we will also launch new science communication programs for students, teachers and families.”
Avian Flu Emergency
In December last year, the first emergency expedition team arrived in Antarctica to investigate the possible origin of avian influenza in the fauna of the white continent. This phenomenon has aroused the vigilance of the international community. Researchers from the University of Chile through various units are studying this phenomenon and its origins from Together with scientists from the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH) and other institutions. Along this line, a few days ago a team of Spanish researchers confirmed the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in dead birds from Antarctica.
Gonzalo Barriga, a professor at the School of Medicine at the University of Chile and a distinguished researcher at the Milenio BASE Institute, was one of the members of the team deployed to monitor the emergency. He said the purpose of the expedition was to “carry out early detection and epidemiological surveillance of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAI) in the Antarctic Peninsula. “It is worth noting that this is led by a professional team of virology and birds A joint effort to understand the presence and evolution of avian influenza on the frozen continent. “
The academic added that these types of studies “enable to contribute to decisions on virus management plans, biosecurity protocols and new knowledge when faced with viruses such as avian influenza.” He was joined by forestry, agriculture and Veterinary Science doctoral student Camila Soto and veterinary surgeon Scarlet Ubeda participated in this mission as a support team, collecting and analyzing field samples for the project’s Emerging Viruses Laboratory. Institute of Virology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Chile.
This summer, another team from the University of Chile’s Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Sciences (Favet) traveled to Antarctica to respond to the avian influenza emergency. The team led by Prof. Víctor Neira, scholar in the Virology Laboratory of the academic unit, received an invitation to participate in an initiative led by Dr. Marcelo González, current head of the Scientific Department of INACH, which targets active efforts against this pathogen in Antarctica. A surveillance program aimed at early detection in the area.
Bárbara Berazay, a master’s student in animal and veterinary sciences, and Benjamin Bennett, a veterinarian and researcher at the Laboratory of Animal Virology in Favet, are researchers in the department who traveled to Antarctica within the framework of the initiative. The two have been collaborating on the first phase of this work since December at Professor Julio Escudero’s Scientific Base on King George Island. “We are working to collect samples of various marine species that may be infected with this influenza virus variant, and to use molecular diagnostics to determine whether this virus is present in the area, thus being able to cooperate in early warning systems,” explains Bárbara.
Additionally, during March, the effort will be joined by Gabriela Muñoz and Naomi Ariyama, doctoral students in forestry and veterinary sciences at the University of Chile South Campus, who will continue to collect fecal-related environmental samples from the first phase. animal. They will also collect direct samples of the species and serum to check for exposure to the virus. “This work will be carried out mainly on penguins because they are easier to handle, they live in large populations and, due to their size, can get better results compared to, or among, other smaller birds. The extreme blood samples were from large mammals,” Professor Neira said.
Governance of the White Continent
One of the research directions of the Millennium Base Institute is precisely focused on proposing conservation and governance policies for Antarctica, an area of work led by Professor Luis Valentín Ferrada, Professor of Law at the University of Chile. Giovannina Sutherland, Catalina Sepúlveda and María Jesús Maibe are researchers from the department who traveled to the White Continent this summer. Sutherland, a researcher at the Milenio BASE Institute and coordinator of the Antarctic Studies Program at the University of Chile, said the expedition of three lawyers to Antarctica to conduct a research project on the governance of the territory represents a historic moment.
“Through field observation work, interviews and scientific base visits, we have uncovered regulatory differences in the regulations established by Antarctic Treaty Parties to govern the prevention, control and management of avian influenza in Antarctica, particularly in Chile.” United States and Australia. This initiative is part of a work directed by Dr. Luis Valentín Ferrada of the Milenio BASE Institute, which identifies a number of issues that, despite affecting the entire Antarctic Treaty System, are not possible to regulate through measures of uniform standards, as is happening in the During this avian flu emergency,” Giovannina Sutherland explains the work.
Upon returning home, the researchers will seek to develop initiatives that demonstrate our country’s pioneering role in this regulatory aspect and the importance of international cooperation in the face of shared risks affecting Antarctic and sub-Antarctic biodiversity, e.g. Biodiversity alert. Avian influenza may be present in Antarctica’s fauna.
Fossils from the Age of Dinosaurs
This year, researchers Jhonatan Alarcón and Juan Pablo Pino from the University of Chile’s Paleontology Network also participated in the 60th Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (ECA).