Thriving or Surviving?

I have read numerous books about human struggles in the Antarctic and Arctic. The classic is Ernest Shackleton and his crew's epic two year struggle to survive and escape the entrapment of their ship, the Endurance, in the ice of the Weddell Sea. Less well known, but no less heroic or inspiring is the story of the Australian explorer, Sir Douglas Mawson, a contemporary of Shackleton. While these stories tell of unimaginable feats of endurance, ingenuity and bravery they are all at odds with the environment - Man against nature. This is not the story I want to focus on in my blog. Certainly the conditions for these explorers proved in many cases to be fatally overwhelming and people still die in both places while conducting science, exploring and visiting, however, nowadays visiting the polar regions is easier for humans and even comfortable.

I want to look at how the creatures of Antarctica thrive in a place so harshly impossible for humans without modern equipment, technology and logistics.

How is it that penguins, krill, seals, whales and numerous other organisms can maintain a robust population in such an environment. I had to stop myself, right there, from typing "harsh" in the last sentence. What may be impossible for us may be just what these creatures need. I want to keep that in mind as my exploration begins.