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

罗斯海是一个全球重要的生态热点，居住着世界上25%-45%的阿德利企鹅和帝企鹅、南极Skuas、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转。为了实现这一目标，需要参与一项国际研究和监测计划，更重要的是，将关于这些中食肉动物的已知知识与其栖息地的生物海洋学结合起来，其中部分也是众所周知的。该项目将通过评估指示物种Adélie企鹅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在食物网的基础上自主量化猎物的丰度和分布以及包括浮游植物在内的海洋属性。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，还有一个公共外展计划，每个野外赛季覆盖200个学校团体，以及一个正在进行的相关项目的网站访问量为100万次。将强调关于生态系统变化以及如何衡量生态系统变化的经验教训，即STEM领域。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.