Real-Time Characterization of Adelie Penguin Foraging Environment Using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。南极半岛是地球上变暖最快的地区之一。 来自南极绕极流的热量增加使永久密度跃层以下300米的陆架水温度升高了0.7摄氏度。这一趋势已经取代了曾经占主导地位的寒冷、干燥的南极大陆气候，并在海洋生态系统中引起多层次的反应。生态系统对变暖的反应的一个突出例子是当地依赖冰的阿德利企鹅的减少。这些顶级捕食者的变化被认为是由浮游植物和浮游动物群落组成的变化，以及这些物种之间的觅食限制和饮食差异所驱动的。对阿德利企鹅觅食生态学感兴趣的研究人员面临的最难以捉摸的问题之一，即，这种顶级捕食者的三维觅食空间的生物物理特性是什么？该研究将联合收割机阿德利企鹅卫星标签的实时站点和潜水信息，以及使用自主水下航行器（AUV）对海洋学和企鹅捕食场的全面描述。虽然这些变化中的一些已经在WAP的大空间尺度上被记录下来，但现在认为，有利于一种生活史策略的因果机制实际上可能比以前认为的要小得多，特别是在当地繁殖地和越冬区的规模上。在这些地方尺度上的猎物领域的特征还有待完成，其中一个AUV是理想的适合。研究结果将与西南极半岛正在发生的气候变化有直接联系。这项研究还将强调一种将自主平台与鸟类行为联系起来的新方法，该方法可以扩展到其他两种企鹅，并研究它们觅食行为和猎物选择的季节差异。从车辆的角度来看，这项工作将通知AUV用户社区的新的传感器套件和/或数据处理方法，需要更好地评估觅食栖息地。该项目还将有助于将AUV平台转变为该地区的常规调查工具，该地区长期采样不足，并且仍然难以进入

Abstract This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The Antarctic Peninsula is among the most rapidly warming regions on earth. Increased heat from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current has elevated the temperature of the 300 m of shelf water below the permanent pycnocline by 0.7 degrees C. This trend has displaced the once dominant cold, dry continental Antarctic climate, and is causing multi-level responses in the marine ecosystem. One striking example of the ecosystem response to warming has been the local declines in ice-dependent Adélie penguins. The changes in these apex predators are thought to be driven by alterations in phytoplankton and zooplankton community composition, and the foraging limitations and diet differences between these species. One of the most elusive questions facing researchers interested in the foraging ecology of the Adélie penguin, namely, what are the biophysical properties that characterize the three dimensional foraging space of this top predator? The research will combine the real-time site and diving information from the Adélie penguin satellite tags with the full characterization of the oceanography and the penguins prey field using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). While some of these changes have been documented over large spatial scales of the WAP, it is now thought that the causal mechanisms that favor of one life history strategy over another may actually operate over much smaller scales than previously thought, specifically on the scale of local breeding sites and over-wintering areas. Characterization of prey fields on these local scales has yet to be done and one that the AUV is ideally suited. The results will have a direct tie to the climate induced changes that are occurring in the West Antarctic Peninsula. This study will also highlight a new approach to linking an autonomous platform to bird behavior that could be expanded to include the other two species of penguins and examine the seasonal differences in their foraging behavior and prey selection. From a vehicle perspective, this effort will inform the AUV user community of new sensor suites and/or data processing approaches that are required to better evaluate foraging habitat. The project also will help transition AUV platforms into routine investigative tools for this region, which is chronically under sampled and will remain difficult to access