Antarctica's native species are facing invasion as climate change dramatically expands the continent's ice-free zones, a new study warns.

Australian researchers say the warming climate could see ice-free areas increase by almost 25 per cent by the end of the century.

Antarctica's ice-free areas could increase by 25 per cent by the end of the century, a new study says. Credit:UQ Media

Invasive species that are already changing the ecology of sub-Antarctic islands are likely to take hold further south in newly exposed parts of the continent and may out-compete native species, some of which are found no where else in the world.

"As the climate warms and it gets milder, and there are more ice-free areas, invasive species will become able to establish themselves," says PhD student Jasmine Lee, who helped lead a new study published in the journal Nature.