Collaborative Research: Common Environmental Drivers Determine the Occupation Chronology of Adélie Penguins and Moss Peatbanks on the Western Antarctic Peninsula

该奖项全部或部分根据2021年美国救援计划法案（公法117-2）资助。第一部分：非技术性描述：阿德利企鹅的殖民地正在减少，并从南极半岛西部消失。然而，并不是所有的殖民地都以相同的速度下降或消失。该研究项目将评估陆地表面特性对阿德利企鹅殖民地的影响，利用对帕尔默站附近海鸟的五十年研究，其中利奇菲尔德岛上的阿德利企鹅殖民地于2007年灭绝，而附近的其他殖民地仍然存在。研究人员将结合联合收割机从遥感，UAS（无人驾驶飞机系统或无人机）高分辨率地图，过去苔藓银行的重建和机器学习工具建模获得的信息，以确定合适的企鹅和泥炭藓栖息地，并探索小气候对其分布的影响。特别是，研究人员正在询问，在局部风模式存在的情况下，来自企鹅殖民地的鸟粪是否可以作为苔藓银行的肥料，这些风模式可以将空气中的氮带到苔藓上。建模将企鹅和泥炭藓的空间格局与环境变量，并提供了一个更好的理解如何持续的环境变化可能会影响这些社区。该项目可以记录南极陆地生态系统，以支持海鸟，并向寻求研究企鹅的更广泛的科学界提供此类信息，教育研究生和本科生以及一名博士后研究员。该研究团队包括两名年轻女性作为首席研究员，其中一名来自代表性不足的少数民族，首次担任南极首席研究员，来自EPSCoR州（怀俄明州），扩大了对南极研究的参与。研究人员将作为学生导师通过杜克巴斯连接计划题为生物地理评估南极海岸的鱼类。该项目支持由研究生和本科生组成的跨学科团队与项目教师和专家合作，开展前沿研究，将课堂与真实的世界联系起来。第二部分：技术描述： 本研究旨在通过分析南极西部半岛帕尔默站周围岛屿上现在和过去的阿德利企鹅殖民地和苔藓泥炭滩来了解小气候尺度（米）的变化-相互关联的系统通常被认为是孤立的。通过整合现场和远程数据，该项目将综合南极半岛小岛屿地貌的驱动因素，这是一个快速变化的地区，植物和动物经常共存，动物的存在往往决定了植物的栖息地。多学科方法结合联合收割机实地测量，遥感，UAS（无人驾驶飞机系统）地图，古生态学和建模与机器学习，以确定合适的栖息地和小气候对企鹅和泥炭滩分布的影响。这项研究的两个方面之间的联系，泥炭银行和企鹅，是潜在的营养来源，从企鹅粪便泥炭藓。将对泥炭滩和企鹅分布进行建模，并使用苔藓样本的原位信息对所有模型进行验证，这些信息将确定机械过程。该项目利用该地区50年的海鸟研究和极地地理空间中心提供的高清遥感技术，研究利奇菲尔德岛的小气候，2007年，当附近的其他殖民地仍然存在时，利奇菲尔德岛的一个阿德利殖民地已经灭绝。该研究团队包括两名早期职业女性作为首席研究员，其中一名来自代表性不足的少数民族，首次担任南极首席研究员，来自EPSCoR州（怀俄明州）。研究人员将通过杜克巴斯连接项目担任学生的导师，该项目名为南极海岸植被的生物地理评估，该项目将课堂与真实的世界联系起来。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

This award is funded in whole or part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). Part I: Non-technical description: Adélie penguin colonies are declining and disappearing from the western Antarctic Peninsula. However, not all colonies in a certain area decline or disappear at the same rate. This research project will evaluate the influence of terrestrial surface properties on Adélie penguin colonies, leveraging five decades of research on seabirds near Palmer Station where an Adélie colony on Litchfield Island became extinct in 2007 while other colonies nearby are still present. The researchers will combine information obtained from remote sensing, UAS (Unoccupied Aircraft System, or drones) high-resolution maps, reconstruction of past moss banks and modeling with machine learning tools to define suitable penguin and peatbank moss habitats and explore the influence of microclimate on their distributions. In particular, the researchers are asking if guano from penguin colonies could act as fertilizers of moss banks in the presence of localized wind patters that can carry airborne nitrogen to the mosses. Modeling will relate penguin and peatbank moss spatial patterns to environmental variables and provide a greater understanding of how continued environmental change could impact these communities. The project allows for documentation of terrestrial Antarctic ecosystems in support of seabirds and provisioning of such information to the broader science community that seeks to study penguins, educating graduate and undergraduate students and a post-doctoral researcher. The research team includes two young women as Principal Investigators, one of them from an under-represented ethnic minority, first time Antarctic Principal Investigator, from an EPSCoR state (Wyoming), broadening participation in Antarctic research. Researchers will serve as student mentors through the Duke Bass Connections program entitled Biogeographic Assessment of Antarctic Coastal Habitats. This program supports an interdisciplinary team of graduate and undergraduate students collaborating with project faculty and experts on cutting-edge research bridging the classroom and the real world.Part II: Technical description: This research aims to understand the changes at the microclimate scale (meters) by analyzing present and past Adélie penguin colonies and moss peatbanks in islands around Palmer Station in the western Antarctic Peninsula – interlinked systems that are typically considered in isolation. By integrating in situ and remote data, this project will synthesize the drivers of biogeomorphology on small islands of the Antarctic Peninsula, a region of rapid change where plants and animals often co-occur and animal presence often determines the habitation of plants. A multi-disciplinary approach combine field measurements, remote sensing, UAS (Unoccupied Aircraft Systems) maps, paleoecology and modeling with machine learning to define suitable habitats and the influence of microclimates on penguin and peatbank distributions. The link between the two aspects of this study, peatbanks and penguins, is the potential source of nutrients for peat mosses from penguin guano. Peatbank and penguin distribution will be modeled and all models will be validated using in situ information from moss samples that will identify mechanistic processes. This project leverages 5 decades of seabird research in the area and high-definition remote sensing provided by the Polar Geospatial center to study the microclimate of Litchfield Island where an Adélie colony became extinct in 2007 when other colonies nearby are still present. The research team includes two early career women as Principal Investigators, one of them from an under-represented ethnic minority, first time Antarctic Principal Investigator, from an EPSCoR state (Wyoming). Researchers will serve as mentors for students through the Duke Bass Connections program entitled Biogeogrpahic Assessment of Antarctic Coastal Habitats which bridges the classroom and the real world.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.