NSFGEO-NERC: Collaborative Research - P2P: Predators to Plankton - Biophysical Controls in Antarctic Polynyas

罗斯海是全球重要的生态热点，拥有世界上25-45%的企鹅、帝企鹅、南极贼鸥、南极海燕和威德尔海豹。它也是南大洋内为数不多的海洋保护区之一，旨在保护其生态系统的运作。要实现这一目标，需要参与一个国际研究和监测项目，更重要的是，要把对这些中掠食者的了解（这是很多的）和它们栖息地的海洋生物学（其中一部分也是众所周知的）结合起来。该项目将通过评估adsamlie企鹅（一种指示物种）的觅食行为来获取这些物种食物网动态的数据，而多传感器海洋滑翔机将自动量化猎物的丰度和分布，以及食物网底部的海洋特性，包括浮游植物。此外，卫星图像将量化企鹅觅食区域内的海冰和鲸鱼（竞争对手）。经验丰富的研究人员和学生将参与其中，同时还将开展一项公共推广计划，该计划将在每个实地季节达到100万至200个学校团体，并将对正在进行的相关项目的网站进行100万次访问。关于生态系统变化的教训，以及如何测量它，即STEM领域，将被强调。结果将分发给世界科学界和管理界。

The Ross Sea, a globally important ecological hotspot, hosts 25-45% of the world populations of Adélie and emperor penguins, South Polar skuas, Antarctic petrels, and Weddell seals. It is also one of the few marine protected areas designated within the Southern Ocean, designed to protect the workings of its ecosystem. To achieve that goal requires participation in an international research and monitoring program, and more importantly integration of what is known about these mesopredators, which is a lot, and the biological oceanography of their habitat, parts of which are also well known. The project will acquire data on these species' food web dynamics through assessing of Adélie penguin foraging behavior, an indicator species, while multi-sensor ocean gliders autonomously quantify prey abundance and distribution as well as ocean properties, including phytoplankton, at the base of the food web. Additionally, satellite imagery will quantify sea ice and whales (competitors) within the penguins' foraging area. Seasoned researchers and students will be involved, as will a public outreach program that reaches >200 school groups per field season, and >1M visits to the website of an ongoing, related project. Lessons about ecosystem change, and how it is measured, i.e. the STEM fields, will be emphasized. Results will be distributed to the world science and management communities.