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

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。第一部分：非技术描述：阿德利企鹅群正在从南极半岛西部减少和消失。然而，并不是某一地区的所有殖民地都以同样的速度衰落或消失。这项研究项目将利用对帕尔默站附近海鸟长达50年的研究，评估陆地表面特性对阿德利企鹅群落的影响。2007年，利奇菲尔德岛上的一个阿德利企鹅群落灭绝，而附近的其他企鹅群落仍然存在。研究人员将结合从遥感、UAS(无人驾驶飞机系统或无人机)高分辨率地图、重建过去的苔藓库和使用机器学习工具建模获得的信息来定义合适的企鹅和泥炭滩苔藓栖息地，并探索小气候对它们分布的影响。特别是，研究人员正在询问，企鹅群体中的鸟粪是否可以在局部风力存在的情况下充当苔藓库的肥料，这些风力可以将空气中的氮带到苔藓中。建模将把企鹅和泥炭滩苔藓的空间模式与环境变量联系起来，并提供对持续环境变化如何影响这些群落的更好理解。该项目允许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这种信息，教育研究生和本科生以及博士后研究人员。研究小组包括两名年轻女性担任首席调查员，其中一人来自代表性不足的少数民族，第一次担任南极首席调查员，来自EPSCoR州(怀俄明州)，扩大了对南极研究的参与。研究人员将通过Duke Bass Connections项目担任学生导师，该项目名为南极海岸栖息地的生物地理评估。该计划支持一个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，在尖端研究中架起课堂和现实世界的桥梁。第二部分：技术描述：本研究旨在通过分析目前和过去在南极半岛西部帕尔默站周围岛屿上的阿德利企鹅群落和苔藓泥炭滩-通常被孤立地考虑的相互关联的系统，了解小气候规模(米)的变化。通过整合现场和远程数据，该项目将综合南极半岛小岛生物地貌的驱动因素，南极半岛是一个快速变化的地区，动植物经常共存，动物的存在往往决定植物的栖息地。一种多学科的方法结合了实地测量、遥感、无人飞机系统(UAS)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--泥炭滩和企鹅--之间的联系，是企鹅鸟粪中泥炭苔藓潜在的营养来源。将对泥炭滩和企鹅的分布进行建模，并将使用来自苔藓样本的现场信息来验证所有模型，这些信息将识别机械过程。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晰度遥感技术来研究利奇菲尔德岛的小气候。2007年，利奇菲尔德岛的一个阿德利殖民地灭绝，而附近的其他殖民地仍然存在。研究小组包括两名职业生涯早期的女性首席调查员，其中一人来自代表不足的少数民族，第一次担任南极首席调查员，来自EPSCoR州(怀俄明州)。研究人员将通过Duke Bass Connections项目作为学生的导师，该项目名为《南极海岸生境生物地理评估》，将课堂与现实世界联系起来。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.