Collaborative Research: The Ecological Role of a Poorly Studied Antarctic Krill Predator: The Humpback Whale, Megaptera Novaeangliae

摘要智力价值：磷虾剩余假说认为，在20世纪的大部分时间里，须鲸在南极水域几近灭绝，导致其他捕食者获得磷虾的能力发生了重大变化。然而，在过去十年中，南极半岛周围的磷虾总体数量减少了一个数量级以上，部分原因是物力，包括冬季海冰覆盖的持续时间和范围。磷虾捕食者容易受到猎物变化的影响，并已被证明随着猎物可获得性的变化而改变其人口统计学。这项研究将使用新的标记技术与传统的渔业声学方法相结合，来量化南极一种了解较少但在生态上完整且正在恢复的磷虾捕食者-座头鲸(Megaptera Novaeangliae)-所消耗的猎物。它还将结合使用先进的非侵入性标签技术来研究鲸鱼的行为，同时使用水声技术来绘制磷虾聚集地的地图。该项目将(1)提供座头鲸对磷虾消耗率的直接和定量估计，并将其纳入磷虾种群管理和南极海洋生态系统养护的模型；(2)提供了解捕食者-被捕食者生态和营养动态所必需的信息，即须鲸是否/如何影响磷虾和/或其他磷虾捕食者的分布和行为；(3)大大增加关于南极须鲸潜水行为和觅食生态的知识；(4)开发新的地理空间工具，用于建立考虑物理和生物数据的多营养水平模型。更广泛的影响：鲸鱼被认为是南极磷虾的主要捕食者，但人们对鲸鱼如何利用这一资源知之甚少。这些知识对于解决自下而上和自上而下的问题至关重要，例如，气候变化可能如何影响鲸鱼，或者鲸鱼如何影响磷虾数量下降。该项目将通过为杜克大学、佛罗里达州立大学和波士顿马萨诸塞大学的本科生和研究生以及博士后研究人员提供机会，将研究和教育结合起来。该项目还将寻求通过与国家地理学会以及这些社区的参与大学和当地学校合作，通过实时、季节性和课程开发将互动学习结合起来。

AbstractIntellectual Merit: The krill surplus hypothesis argues that the near-extirpation of baleen whales from Antarctic waters during much the twentieth century led to significant changes in the availability of krill for other predators. Over the past decade, however, overall krill abundance has decreased by over an order of magnitude around the Antarctic Peninsula, in part due to physical forces, including the duration and extent of winter sea ice cover. Krill predators are vulnerable to variability in prey and have been shown to alter their demography in response to changes in prey availability This research will use novel tagging technology combined with traditional fisheries acoustics methods to quantify the prey consumed by a poorly understood yet ecologically integral and recovering krill predator in the Antarctic, the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). It also will use a combination of advanced non-invasive tag technology to study whale behavior concurrent with hydro-acoustic techniques to map krill aggregations. The project will (1) provide direct and quantitative estimates of krill consumption rates by humpback whales and incorporate these into models for the management of krill stocks and the conservation of the Antarctic marine ecosystem; (2) provide information integral to understanding predator-prey ecology and trophic dynamics, i.e., if/how baleen whales affect the distribution and behavior of krill and/or other krill predators; (3) add significantly to the knowledge of the diving behavior and foraging ecology of baleen whales in the Antarctic; and (4) develop new geospatial tools for the construction of multi-trophic level models that account for physical as well as biological data. Broader Impacts: Whales are assumed to be a major predator on Antarctic krill, yet there is little understanding of how whales utilize this resource. This knowledge is critical to addressing both bottom-up and top-down questions, e.g., how climate change may affect whales or how whales may affect falling krill abundances. This program will integrate research and education by providing opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral researchers at Duke University, the Florida State University and the University of Massachusetts at Boston. This project will also seek to integrate interactive learning through real time, seasonal and curriculum development in collaboration with the National Geographic Society as well as at the participating universities and local schools in those communities.