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Globally important services are supported by Southern Ocean ecosystems, underpinned by the structure, function, and dynamics of complex interconnected and regionally distinctive food webs. These food webs vary in response to a combination of physical and chemical processes that alter productivity, species composition and the relative abundance and dynamics of organisms. Combined with regional and seasonal variability, climate-induced changes and human activities have and are expected to continue to drive important structural and functional changes to Southern Ocean food webs. However, our current understanding of food web structure, function, status, and trends is patchy in space and time, and methods for systematically assessing and comparing community-level responses to change within and across regional and temporal scales are not well developed. Insights gained from food web modelling studies—ranging from theoretical analyses of ecosystem resilience and adaptation, to qualitative and quantitative descriptions of the system—can assist in resolving patterns of energy flow and the ecological mechanisms that drive food web structure, function, and responses to drivers (such as fishing and climate change). This understanding is required to inform robust management strategies to conserve Southern Ocean food webs and the ecosystem services they underpin in the face of change. This paper synthesises the current state of knowledge regarding Southern Ocean pelagic food webs, highlighting the distinct regional food web characteristics, including key drivers of energy flow, dominant species, and network properties that may indicate system resilience. In particular, the insights, gaps, and potential integration of existing knowledge and Southern Ocean food web models are evaluated as a basis for developing integrated food web assessments that can be used to test the efficacy of alternative management and policy options. We discuss key limitations of existing models for assessing change resulting from various drivers, summarise priorities for model development and identify that significant progress could be made to support policy by advancing the development of food web models coupled to projected biogeochemical models, such as in Earth System models. Fil: McCormack, Stacey A.. University of Tasmania; Australia Fil: Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica. University of Tasmania; Australia Fil: Trebilco, Rowan. University of Tasmania; Australia Fil: Griffith, Gary. University of Princeton; Estados Unidos Fil: Hill, Simeon L.. British Antarctic Survey; Reino Unido Fil: Hoover, Carie. Dalhousie University Halifax; Canadá Fil: Johnston, Nadine M.. British Antarctic Survey; Reino Unido Fil: Marina, Tomas Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina Fil: Murphy, Eugene J.. British Antarctic Survey; Reino Unido Fil: Pakhomov, Evgeny A.. University of British Columbia; Canadá Fil: Pinkerton, Matt. National Institute Of Water And Atmospheric Research.; Nueva Zelanda Fil: Plagányi, Éva. University of Tasmania; Australia Fil: Saravia, Leonardo Ariel. Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento; Argentina Fil: Subramaniam, Roshni C.. University of Tasmania; Australia Fil: Van de Putte, Anton P.. Université Libre de Bruxelles; Bélgica. Katholikie Universiteit Leuven; Bélgica Fil: Constable, Andrew J.. University of Tasmania; Australia