The Ocean Acidification Symposium was presented by the Centre for Chemical and Physical Oceanography, in November of 2012. The day-long symposium featured brief presentations from a wide range of researchers, of which this is one: Dr Melanie Gault-Ringold explores the role of bioactive metals in the lives of southern Ocean phytoplankton. This talk looks at the role of cadmium and other metals, and how southern ocean phytoplankton differ form their northern cousins