Until recently, few marine research cruises in the Southern Ocean have attempted to simultaneously collect data on both cetaceans and their prey with the objective of integrating these and other biological and physical data to investigate linkages at fine and meso scales.
	However, where this has been attempted recently, significant insights into ecosystem processes have been made.
	SO-GLOBEC studies provide the ideal platform for such long-term studies, where scientists from a range of disciplines can conduct intensive focused studies, within the framework of international collaboration and long term synthesis of data and planning.
	Current research efforts are directed at understanding how human activities (particularly climate change) and physical and biological processes in cetacean habitat and ecosystems affect the distribution, movements, social behaviour and health of individuals and populations.