Please note that final assignment is subject to the student qualifying for FWS Placement. If a student is allowed to work without having a FWS Referral Form signed by all parties and on file in this office, your department will be responsible for compensating the student.
Antarctica is considered a desert, with annual precipitation of only 200 mm (8 inches) along the coast and far less inland. Only cold-adapted organisms survive there, including many types of algae, animals (for example mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades), bacteria, fungi, plants, and protista.
The landscape. The Antarctic continent is a land mass covered with ice up to 4 km thick. The highest point is approximately 4 km above sea level. There is little exposed rock and, although millions of years ago there was heavy vegetation, today the only plants that grow are very small mosses and lichens.ncluding all the islands and ice shelves, Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia, covering 13,661,000 kmÂ². The Australian Antarctic Territory is 5,896,500 kmÂ² (42% of Antarctica).