Results of a study of benthic communities in the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. The top row shows the original photographs of a square metre of seabed and, underneath, the corresponding image interpreted using image-recognition software. The proportion of blotches indicates the relative importance of each species in the seascape.

a-Stations map: Location of the study stations in the Weddell Sea.
b-Original photos: Original photographs of the sea bed.
c-Computer representations: Photographs treated with image recognition.

Núria Teixidor, Advanced Studies Centre of Blanes, Higher Council for Scientific Research.