There are no polar bears in the Antarctic – they are an Arctic species only. The top predators in the Antarctic are orcas and leopard seals which leaves the land oddly devoid of big predators.

It’s a common joke among Antarctic scientists. But alas, I’ve never seen a flame thrower in the Antarctic (nor hand grenades, high powered rifles, or sled dogs, among a few other items that appear in The Thing).

I’m not aware of any that live exclusively off of insects which, as you note, would be a hard way to make a living! My understanding is that with the exception of the truly marine birds (e.g. penguins, albatrosses, petrels, etc.) Antarctic birds are highly opportunistic feeders. The snowy sheathbills are a good example of this; they’ll eat virtually anything organic that they come across. For more about Antarctic birds check out the Cornell University neotropical bird atlas and search “Antarctica”.

Lucy,
Most, if not all, of the permanent facilities have laboratory spaces equipped with basic equipment for cultivating microbes and extracting RNA/DNA/protein. To gain access you’ll need to work with your national program to access their facility (do researchers from HKU have access to Chinese national facilities?) or arrange a contract with another country. The US program for example, often hosts international researchers at McMurdo and the field camp in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. I suggest getting in contact with John Priscu at Montana State University or Christina Vesbach at the University of New Mexico for more information on how that might work. Alternatively you could reach out directly to the appropriate program manager at the National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs. They will not fund international work directly, but could tell you how to pursue work funded by Hong Kong at US facilities.

Jeff

Because Antarctica is considered an “open” site for scientific research the ethics, I think, are fairly straightforward. Normally there are concerns about propriety if a scientific team samples bacteria/viruses/etc. from a country other than their own. This shouldn’t be the case for Antarctica although the people at the BAS could tell you for sure.