Seabird Studies in the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas, Antarctica

9400809安利海鸟研究将与将于1994年2月和3月期间在阿蒙森和别令斯豪森海域进行的实际海洋学巡航一起进行。海洋学的目标和巡航轨道的设计提供了一个无与伦比的机会来调查该地区的鸟类，这是以前从未被描述过的，但更重要的是，使用一种新技术来解决在浮冰边缘和南极斜坡锋影响南大洋顶级营养食肉动物上层密度的程度上明显不一致的问题。这次航行构成了对占南极洲三分之一周长的别林斯豪森海和阿蒙森海的第一次现代海洋学调查。将检验三个假设：(i)当大陆架断裂锋存在时，海鸟的生物量将高于邻近水域的生物量；（ii）海冰边缘海鸟生物量的增加是由于浮游植物浓度的增加而使海鸟的猎物丰度增加的函数；和/或（iii）冰面边缘海鸟生物量的增加是采样的产物，取决于船的速度和相对于鸟的方向。数据将补充热带和温带太平洋地区的数据，从而更好地了解鸟类对极地地区生活的适应。总的来说，我们的研究结果将增加我们对海洋鸟类如何利用风作为能源的理解，并进一步深入了解这些顶级捕食者群落的环境因素。＊＊＊

9400809 Ainley Seabird studies will be conducted in conjunction with a physical oceanographic cruise that will take place in the Amundsen and Bellingshausen seas during February and March 1994. The objectives of the oceanography and design of the cruise track offers an unparalleled opportunity to investigate the region's avifauna, which never before has been described, but more importantly to use a new technique to resolve an apparent inconsistency in the extent to which the pack-ice edge and the Antarctic Slope Front affects pelagic densities of top trophic predators in the Southern Ocean. The cruise constitutes the first modern oceanographic investigation of the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas, fully one-third of the circumference of Antarctica. Three hypotheses will be tested: (i) when a shelf- break front is present, seabird biomass will be elevated above that of adjacent waters; (ii) the elevated biomass of seabirds at the ice edge is a function of an increase in abundance of the bird's prey in response to increased phytoplankton concentration; and/or (iii) the elevated biomass of seabirds at the ice edge is an artifact of sampling dependent on ship speed and direction relative to that of the birds. Data would complement those taken in the tropical and temperate Pacific, allowing for a better understanding of the adaptations of birds to life in polar regions. Overall, our research results will increase our understanding of how marine birds use wind as an energy source, providing further insight into the environmental factors that structure communities of these top-trophic predators. ***