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

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.