Dynamics of Subcolonies in the Adelie Penguin

阿德利企鹅群体的内部结构由各种不同的亚群体组成。这些亚群体的大小增加或减少相对独立于群体整体的变化。本项目旨在调查罗斯海几个大型阿德利企鹅繁殖地亚群大小的动态变化，并评估导致这种变化的因素。为了了解企鹅种群的整体动态，了解导致这些有时相互矛盾的模式的原因是很重要的。在伯德角北部殖民地的观察表明，冰情和游客的干扰是影响亚殖民地大小的重要因素。这些因素将具体加以处理。此外，还将使用数字图像分析方法来简化从航空照片中计算企鹅的过程。这项研究将提高我们对企鹅种群动态的理解的复杂性，并引入更多的自动化种群评估方法。这两个目标对目前南极生物学的主要兴趣都具有相当重要的意义。

Adelie penguin colonies have an internal structure consisting of a variety of distinct subcolonies. These subcolonies increase or decrease in size relatively independent from variations in the colony as a whole. The purpose of this project is to investigate the dynamics of subcolony size at several large breeding colonies of Adelie penguins in the Ross Sea, and evaluate the factors that cause such variation. It is important to understand what causes these sometimes-contradictory patterns in order to understand the dynamics of penguin populations as a whole. Observations at the northern colony at Cape Bird indicate that ice conditions and disturbance by visitors are significant factors that affect subcolony size. These factors will be addressed specifically. In addition, methods of digital image analysis will be used to ease the process of counting penguins from aerial photos. This research will raise the sophistication of our understanding of penguin population dynamics and also introduce more automated methods for evaluating populations. Both these goals are of considerable importance to current major interests in Antarctic biology.