USAP-DC

{"dp_type": "Project", "free_text": "Sub-Antarctic"}

[{"awards": "2338980 Kienle, Sarah", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Part 1: Non-technical summary Trait differences between males and females are widespread across the animal kingdom. Because these traits often lead to trade-offs that affect reproductive success and survival, understanding them is a fundamental question in biology. Leopard seals are large predators in the Southern Ocean and an extreme example of female-biased dimorphism in mammals, where females are the larger than males. Yet, the effects of these size differences are unknown. This project will investigate the causes and consequences of female-biased dimorphism in leopard seals and will generate new data on the life history, reproductive physiology, and breeding biology of this important and enigmatic polar predator. This information is critical for understanding leopard seals\u0027 past, present, and future\u2014from how the species evolved to predicting their resilience in an era of unprecedented environmental change. The project also has a strong education component. It aims to increase the participation of people from historically excluded groups in polar biology by training, mentoring, and supporting two postdocs, two grad students, and 25+ undergraduates. It will also engage students and the public in scientific research through outreach activities at local, national, and international scales. Part 2: Technical summary Trait differences can lead to important trade-offs that affect biological processes at multiple scales, from intraspecific differences in fitness to species-level life history strategies. Leopard seals exhibit an extreme form of female-biased size dimorphism. However, for solitary, wide-ranging polar species like leopard seals, it is difficult to study their life history and reproductive biology. As a result, it is unknown how leopard seals\u0027 size dimorphism relates to other aspects of their biology. The goal of this project is to examine fitness trade-offs associated with female-biased dimorphism in leopard seals. Specifically, this study will (1) assess differences in male and female morphology and life history, (2) compare reproductive physiology between males and females, (3) investigate their breeding behavior and reproductive activities, and (4) conduct a cross-clade synthesis of female-biased dimorphism in mammals. The team will analyze existing specimens from biological collections and conduct field efforts to generate novel, complementary data. This information is critical for understanding how leopard seals evolved to survive and persist in the Southern Ocean. The research aligns with NSF\u0027s Strategic Vision for Investments in Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research and supports ongoing efforts to create and utilize open polar research software, as well as data and sample reuse in polar research. This work relies on strong collaborations across academia, non-profits, and government institutions worldwide, and the results will be broadly shared with global audiences. This project also aims to increase the participation and retention of people from historically excluded groups in polar research. Specifically, the goals are to (1) recruit and train a diverse, inclusive, and supportive research team, (2) lead a research-intensive undergrad course (SEAL Lab), and (3) provide grad students and postdocs with hands-on leadership and mentoring experiences. The project will engage students and the public in polar research, as students will conduct research in museum, field, and lab-based settings. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Age; Ecology; Physiology; Chile; SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS; MAMMALS; Reproduction; Sub-Antarctic; Antarctica; United States Of America; MARINE ECOSYSTEMS; Livingston Island; Adaptation; Leopard Seal; Ecophysiology; South Shetland Islands", "locations": "Antarctica; Chile; Sub-Antarctic; Livingston Island; South Shetland Islands; United States Of America", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Kienle, Sarah", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "CAREER: Investigating Fitness Trade-offs In A Southern Ocean Predator, The Leopard Seal", "uid": "p0010557", "west": null}, {"awards": "2232891 Postlethwait, John", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -37,-144 -37,-108 -37,-72 -37,-36 -37,0 -37,36 -37,72 -37,108 -37,144 -37,180 -37,180 -42.3,180 -47.6,180 -52.9,180 -58.2,180 -63.5,180 -68.8,180 -74.1,180 -79.4,180 -84.69999999999999,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -84.7,-180 -79.4,-180 -74.1,-180 -68.8,-180 -63.5,-180 -58.2,-180 -52.9,-180 -47.6,-180 -42.300000000000004,-180 -37))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Mon, 14 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Antarctic animals face tremendous threats as Antarctic ice sheets melt and temperatures rise. About 34 million years ago, when Antarctica began to cool, most species of fish became locally extinct. A group called the notothenioids, however, survived due to the evolution of antifreeze. The group eventually split into over 120 species. Why did this group of Antarctic fishes evolve into so many species? One possible reason why a single population splits into two species relates to sex genes and sex chromosomes. Diverging species often have either different sex determining genes (genes that specify whether an individual\u2019s gonads become ovaries or testes) or have different sex chromosomes (chromosomes that differ between males and females within a species, like the human X and Y chromosomes). We know the sex chromosomes of only a few notothenioid species and know the genetic basis for sex determination in none of them. The aims of this research are to: 1) identify sex chromosomes in species representing every major group of Antarctic notothenioid fish; 2) discover possible sex determining genes in every major group of Antarctic notothenioid fish; and 3) find sex chromosomes and possible sex determining genes in two groups of temperate, warmer water, notothenioid fish. These warmer water fish include groups that never experienced the frigid Southern Ocean and groups that had ancestors inhabiting Antarctic oceans that later adjusted to warmer waters. This project will help explain the mechanisms that led to the division of a group of species threatened by climate change. This information is critical to conserve declining populations of Antarctic notothenioids, which are major food sources for other Antarctic species such as bird and seals. The project will offer a diverse group of undergraduates the opportunity to develop a permanent exhibit at the Eugene Science Center Museum. The exhibit will describe the Antarctic environment and explain its rapid climate change. It will also introduce the continent\u2019s bizarre fishes that live below the freezing point of water. The project will collaborate with the university\u2019s Science and Comics Initiative and students in the English Department\u2019s Comics Studies Minor to prepare short graphic novels explaining Antarctic biogeography, icefish specialties, and the science of this project as it develops. As Antarctica cooled, most species disappeared from the continent\u2019s waters, but cryonotothenioid fish radiated into a species flock. What facilitated this radiation? Coyne\u2019s \u201ctwo rules of speciation\u201d offer explanations for why species diverge: 1) the dysgenic sex in an interspecies hybrid is the one with two different sex chromosomes (i.e., in humans, it would be XY males and not XX females); and 2) \u201csex chromosomes play an outsized role in speciation\u201d. These ideas propel the project\u2019s main hypothesis: new sex chromosomes and new sex determination genes associate with cryonotothenioid speciation events. The main objective of the research is to identify notothenioid sex chromosomes and candidate sex-determination genes in many notothenioid species. The project\u2019s first aim is to identify Antarctic fish sex chromosomes, asking the question: Did new sex chromosomes accompany speciation events? Knowledge gaps include: which species have cryptic sex chromosomes; which have newly evolved sex chromosomes; and which are chromosomally XX/XY or ZZ/ZW. Methods involve population genomics (RAD-seq and Pool-seq) for more than 20 Antarctic cryonotothenioids. The prediction is frequent turnover of sex chromosomes. The project\u2019s second aim is to Identify candidate Antarctic cryonotothenioid sex-determination genes, asking the question: Did new sex-determination genes accompany Antarctic cryonotothenioid speciation events? A knowledge gap is the identity of sex determination genes in any notothenioid. Preliminary data show that three sex-linked loci are in or adjacent to three different candidate sex determination genes: 1) a duplicate of bmpr1ba in blackfin icefish; 2) a tandem duplicate of gsdf in South Georgia icefish; and 3) a transposed duplicate of gsdf in striped notothen. Methods involve annotating the genomic neighborhoods of cryonotothenioid sex linked loci for anomalies in candidate sex genes, sequencing sex chromosomes, and testing sex gene variants by CRISPR mutagenesis in zebrafish. The prediction is frequent turnover of sex determination genes. The project\u2019s third aim is to identify sex chromosomes and sex-determination genes in temperate notothenioids. Basally diverging temperate notothenioids (\u2018basals\u2019) lack identifiable sex chromosomes, consistent with temperature-cued sex determination, and one \u2018basal\u2019 species is a hermaphrodite. The constantly cold Southern Ocean rules out temperature, a common sex determination cue in many temperate fish, favoring genetic sex determination. Some cryonotothenioids re-invaded temperate waters (\u2018returnees\u2019). Knowledge gaps include whether basals and returnees have strong sex determination genes. Methods employ pool-seq. The prediction is that genetic sex determination is weak in basals and that returnees have the same, but weaker, sex-linked loci as their Antarctic sister clade. A permanent exhibit will be established at the Eugene Science Center Museum tentatively entitled: The Antarctic: its fishes and climate change. Thousands of visitors, especially school children will be exposed, to the science of Antarctic ecosystems and the impacts of climate change. The research team will collaborate with the university\u2019s Science and Comics Initiative to produce short graphic novels explaining Antarctic biogeography, icefish specialties, and this project. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Speciation; Southern Ocean; Dragonfish; Antarctica; Plunderfish; Fish; Notothenioid; FISH; Eleginopsioidea; Icefish; MARINE ECOSYSTEMS; Cryonotothenioid; Sub-Antarctic", "locations": "Antarctica; Southern Ocean; Sub-Antarctic", "north": -37.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Postlethwait, John; Desvignes, Thomas", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "ANT LIA: The Role of Sex Determination in the Radiation of Antarctic Notothenioid Fish", "uid": "p0010431", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1543383 Postlethwait, John; 1947040 Postlethwait, John; 2232891 Postlethwait, John", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -37,-144 -37,-108 -37,-72 -37,-36 -37,0 -37,36 -37,72 -37,108 -37,144 -37,180 -37,180 -42.3,180 -47.6,180 -52.9,180 -58.2,180 -63.5,180 -68.8,180 -74.1,180 -79.4,180 -84.69999999999999,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -84.7,-180 -79.4,-180 -74.1,-180 -68.8,-180 -63.5,-180 -58.2,-180 -52.9,-180 -47.6,-180 -42.300000000000004,-180 -37))", "dataset_titles": "aBSREL tests for episodic diversifying selection on hemoglobin genes in notothenioids.; Genome-wide tRNA gene annotations in notothenioid fishes.; MEME tests of sites evolving under episodic diversifying selection in notothenioid hemoglobin genes.; Notothenioid hemoglobin protein 3D modeling.; Notothenioid species tree used in the study.; Phylogenetic analyses of MN hemoglobin genes.; Phylogenetic trees of hemoglobin proteins in notothenioids.; Rates of hemoglobin evolution among genes and across notothenioid species.; RELAX tests for pervasive changes in strength of natural selection on hemoglobin genes in notothenioids.; Transposable Elements and Repeat Analysis in notothenioid fishes.; tRNA gene annotations in the LA region of notothenioid fishes.", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601730", "doi": "10.15784/601730", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cold Adaptation; Cryonotothenioid; Dragonfish; Eleginopsioidea; Fish; Genetic Analysis; Hemoglobin; Icefish; Notothenioid; Notothenioid Fishes; Plunderfish; Sub-Antarctic", "people": "Desvignes, Thomas; Postlethwait, John", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "MEME tests of sites evolving under episodic diversifying selection in notothenioid hemoglobin genes.", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601730"}, {"dataset_uid": "601721", "doi": "10.15784/601721", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cold Adaptation; Cryonotothenioid; Dragonfish; Eleginopsioidea; Fish; Gene; Hemoglobin; Icefish; Notothenioid; Plunderfish; Sub-Antarctic", "people": "Postlethwait, John; Desvignes, Thomas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Notothenioid species tree used in the study.", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601721"}, {"dataset_uid": "601722", "doi": "10.15784/601722", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cold Adaptation; Cryonotothenioid; Dragonfish; Eleginopsioidea; Fish; Gene; Hemoglobin; Icefish; Notothenioid; Plunderfish; Sub-Antarctic", "people": "Postlethwait, John; Desvignes, Thomas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Phylogenetic trees of hemoglobin proteins in notothenioids.", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601722"}, {"dataset_uid": "601728", "doi": "10.15784/601728", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cold Adaptation; Cryonotothenioid; Dragonfish; Eleginopsioidea; Fish; Gene; Genetic Analysis; Hemoglobin; Icefish; Notothenioid; Notothenioid Fishes; Plunderfish; Sub-Antarctic", "people": "Desvignes, Thomas; Postlethwait, John", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "aBSREL tests for episodic diversifying selection on hemoglobin genes in notothenioids.", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601728"}, {"dataset_uid": "601729", "doi": "10.15784/601729", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cold Adaptation; Cryonotothenioid; Dragonfish; Eleginopsioidea; Fish; Genetic Analysis; Hemoglobin; Icefish; Notothenioid; Notothenioid Fishes; Plunderfish; Sub-Antarctic", "people": "Postlethwait, John; Desvignes, Thomas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Rates of hemoglobin evolution among genes and across notothenioid species.", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601729"}, {"dataset_uid": "601731", "doi": "10.15784/601731", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cold Adaptation; Cryonotothenioid; Dragonfish; Eleginopsioidea; Fish; Genetic Analysis; Hemoglobin; Icefish; Notothenioid; Notothenioid Fishes; Plunderfish; Sub-Antarctic", "people": "Postlethwait, John; Desvignes, Thomas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "RELAX tests for pervasive changes in strength of natural selection on hemoglobin genes in notothenioids.", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601731"}, {"dataset_uid": "601732", "doi": "10.15784/601732", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cold Adaptation; Cryonotothenioid; Dragonfish; Eleginopsioidea; Fish; Genetic Analysis; Hemoglobin; Icefish; Notothenioid; Notothenioid Fishes; Plunderfish; Sub-Antarctic", "people": "Postlethwait, John; Desvignes, Thomas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Notothenioid hemoglobin protein 3D modeling.", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601732"}, {"dataset_uid": "601968", "doi": "10.15784/601968", "keywords": "Antarctic; Cryosphere; Evolution; Fish; Gene; Hemoglobin; Icefish; Notothenioid; Sub-Antarctic; Transfer RNA", "people": "Rivera-Col\u00f3n, Angel G.; Postlethwait, John; Desvignes, Thomas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "tRNA gene annotations in the LA region of notothenioid fishes.", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601968"}, {"dataset_uid": "601969", "doi": "10.15784/601969", "keywords": "Antarctic; Cryosphere; Evolution; Fish; Gene; Hemoglobin; Icefish; Notothenioid; Sub-Antarctic; Transfer RNA", "people": "Postlethwait, John; Rivera-Col\u00f3n, Angel G.; Desvignes, Thomas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Genome-wide tRNA gene annotations in notothenioid fishes.", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601969"}, {"dataset_uid": "601970", "doi": "10.15784/601970", "keywords": "Antarctic; Cryosphere; Evolution; Fish; Gene; Hemoglobin; Icefish; Notothenioid; Sub-Antarctic; Transposable Elements", "people": "Desvignes, Thomas; Postlethwait, John; Rivera-Col\u00f3n, Angel G.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Transposable Elements and Repeat Analysis in notothenioid fishes.", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601970"}, {"dataset_uid": "601971", "doi": "10.15784/601971", "keywords": "Antarctic; Antarctica; Cryosphere; Evolution; Fish; Gene; Hemoglobin; Icefish; Notothenioid; Sub-Antarctic", "people": "Postlethwait, John; Desvignes, Thomas; Rivera-Col\u00f3n, Angel G.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Phylogenetic analyses of MN hemoglobin genes.", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601971"}], "date_created": "Wed, 03 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Antarctic notothenioid fishes, also known as cryonotothenioids, inhabit the icy and highly oxygenated waters surrounding the Antarctic continent after diverging from notothenioids inhabiting more temperate waters. Notothenioid hemoglobin and blood parameters are known to have evolved along with the establishment of stable polar conditions, and among Antarctic notothenioids, icefishes are evolutionary oddities living without hemoglobin following the deletion of all functional hemoglobin genes from their genomes. In this project, we investigate the evolution of hemoglobin genes and gene clusters across the notothenioid radiation until their loss in the icefish ancestor after its divergence from the dragonfish lineage to understand the forces, mechanisms, and potential causes for hemoglobin gene loss in the icefish ancestor.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "FISH; Icefish; Cryonotothenioid; Gene; Plunderfish; Eleginopsioidea; Antarctica; AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS; Dragonfish; Sub-Antarctic; Notothenioid; Blood; Hemoglobin", "locations": "Antarctica; Sub-Antarctic", "north": -37.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Desvignes, Thomas; Postlethwait, John; Rivera-Col\u00f3n, Angel G. ", "platforms": null, "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Evolution of hemoglobin genes in notothenioid fishes", "uid": "p0010417", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "2146068 Kienle, Sarah", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Data from: Individual specialization in a generalist apex predator: The leopard seal; ddRADseq leopard seal (SRR32669466); Genome assembly ASM5032014v1; Hydrurga leptonyx isolate:HLNZ013 (leopard seal); Leopard seals DDRAD", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200550", "doi": "10.3389/fgene.2025.1561273", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI Genbank", "science_program": null, "title": "Genome assembly ASM5032014v1", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/datasets/genome/GCA_050320145.1/"}, {"dataset_uid": "200549", "doi": "10.5061/dryad.f4qrfj75k", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Dryad", "science_program": null, "title": "Data from: Individual specialization in a generalist apex predator: The leopard seal", "url": "https://datadryad.org/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.f4qrfj75k"}, {"dataset_uid": "200551", "doi": "10.3389/fgene.2025.1561273", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI (BioProject)", "science_program": null, "title": "Hydrurga leptonyx isolate:HLNZ013 (leopard seal)", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA1194539/"}, {"dataset_uid": "200548", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Github", "science_program": null, "title": "Leopard seals DDRAD", "url": "https://github.com/DavidVendrami/LeopardSeals_ddRAD"}, {"dataset_uid": "200552", "doi": "10.1038/s41598-025-25641-w", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "SRA (NCBI)", "science_program": null, "title": "ddRADseq leopard seal (SRR32669466)", "url": "https://trace.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Traces/study/?acc=SRP569941\u0026o=acc_s%3Aa"}], "date_created": "Mon, 12 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) is an enigmatic apex predator in the rapidly changing Southern Ocean. As top predators, leopard seals play a disproportionately large role in ecosystem functioning and act as sentinel species that can track habitat changes. How leopard seals respond to a warming environment depends on their adaptive capacity, that is a species\u2019 ability to cope with environmental change. However, leopard seals are one of the least studied apex predators on Earth, hindering our ability to predict how the species is responding to polar environmental changes. Investigating the adaptability of Antarctic biota in a changing system aligns with NSF\u2019s Strategic Vision for Investments in Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research. This research, which is tightly integrated with educational and outreach activities, will increase diversity in STEM and Antarctic science by recruiting students from historically underrepresented groups in STEM and providing training, mentoring, and educational opportunities at an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution and a Historically Black Colleges and Universities campus. This project will improve STEM education and science literacy via museum collaborations, creation of informational videos and original artwork depicting the research. The proposal supports data and sample reuse in polar research and long-term reuse of scientific data, thereby maximizing NSF\u2019s investment in previous field research and reducing operational costs. The researchers will investigate leopard seals adaptive capacity to the warming Southern Ocean by quantifying their ability to move (dispersal ability), adapt (genetic diversity), and change (plasticity). Aim 1 of the research will determine leopard seals\u2019 dispersal ability by assessing their distribution and movement patterns. Aim 2 will quantify genetic diversity by analyzing genetic variability and population structure and Aim 3 will examine phenotypic plasticity by evaluating changes in their ecological niche and physiological responses. The international, multidisciplinary team will analyze existing data (e.g., photographs, census data, life history data, tissue samples, body morphometrics) collected from leopard seals across the Southern Ocean over the last decade. Additionally, land- and ship-based field efforts will generate comparable data from unsampled regions in the Southern Ocean. The research project will analyze these historical and contemporary datasets to evaluate the adaptive capacity of leopard seals against the rapidly warming Southern Ocean. This research is significant because changes in the distribution, genetic diversity, and ecophysiology of leopard seals can dramatically restructure polar and subpolar communities. Further, the research will expand understanding of leopard seals\u2019 ecological role, likely characterizing the species as flexible polar and subpolar predators throughout the Southern Hemisphere. The findings of this research will be relevant for use in ecosystem-based management decisions\u2014including the design of Marine Protected Areas\u2014 across three continents. This study will highlight intrinsic traits that determine species\u2019 adaptive capacity, as well as showcase the dynamic links between polar and subpolar ecosystems. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Foraging Ecology; Sub-Antarctic; Ecophysiology; Population Genetics; FIELD SURVEYS; SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS; Livingston Island; Adaptation; Leopard Seal; MARINE ECOSYSTEMS; Movement Data; MAMMALS; ; Antarctica; Chile; Southern Ocean", "locations": "Southern Ocean; Chile; ; Antarctica; Sub-Antarctic; Livingston Island", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Kienle, Sarah; Bonin, Carolina; Borras-Chavez, Renato", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repo": "NCBI Genbank", "repositories": "Dryad; Github; NCBI (BioProject); NCBI Genbank; SRA (NCBI)", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Move, Adapt, or Change: Examining the Adaptive Capacity of a Southern Ocean Apex Predator, the Leopard Seal", "uid": "p0010375", "west": null}, {"awards": "2032029 Gerken, Sarah", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-70 -62,-68.5 -62,-67 -62,-65.5 -62,-64 -62,-62.5 -62,-61 -62,-59.5 -62,-58 -62,-56.5 -62,-55 -62,-55 -62.8,-55 -63.6,-55 -64.4,-55 -65.2,-55 -66,-55 -66.8,-55 -67.6,-55 -68.4,-55 -69.2,-55 -70,-56.5 -70,-58 -70,-59.5 -70,-61 -70,-62.5 -70,-64 -70,-65.5 -70,-67 -70,-68.5 -70,-70 -70,-70 -69.2,-70 -68.4,-70 -67.6,-70 -66.8,-70 -66,-70 -65.2,-70 -64.4,-70 -63.6,-70 -62.8,-70 -62))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data of NBP2303; Invertebrate Zoology", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200385", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Alabama Museum of Natural History, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa", "science_program": null, "title": "Invertebrate Zoology", "url": "https://arctos.database.museum/"}, {"dataset_uid": "200386", "doi": null, "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data of NBP2303", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP2303"}], "date_created": "Mon, 13 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Ocean communities play an important role in determining the natural and human impacts of global change. The most conspicuous members of those communities are generally large vertebrates such as marine mammals and sea birds. But smaller animals often determine how the changes impact those charismatic animals. In the Antarctic, where some of the most dramatic physical changes are taking place, we do not know much about what small animals exist. This project will sample the sub-Antarctic and three different Antarctic seas with a hope of identifying, quantifying and discovering the variation in species of a group of small invertebrates. Comma shrimp, also called cumaceans, are rarely seen elsewhere but may be common and important in the communities of these locations. Antarctic sampling traditionally used gear that was not very effective at catching cumaceans so we do not know what species exist there and how common they are. This study will utilize modern sampling methods that will allow comma shrimp to be sampled. This will lead to discoveries about the diversity and abundance of comma shrimp, as well as their relationship to other invertebrate species. Major impacts of this work will be an enhancement of museum collections, the development of description of all the comma shrimp of Antarctica including new and unnamed species. Those contributions may be especially important as we strive to understand what drives the dynamics of charismatic vertebrates and fisheries that are tied to Antarctic food webs. This project will collect cumaceans from benthic samples from Argentinian waters, Bransfield Strait, and the Weddell Sea using benthic sleds. Specimens will be fixed in 95% ethanol and preserved in 95% ethanol and 5% glycerin to preserve both morphology and DNA. The specimens will form the basis for a monograph synthesizing current knowledge on the Subantarctic and Antarctic Cumacea, including diagnoses of all species, descriptions of new species, additional description for currently unknown life stages of known species, and vouchered gene sequences for all species collected. The monograph will include keys to all families, genera and species known from the region. Monographic revisions that include identification resources are typically useful for decades to a broad spectrum of other scientists. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -55.0, "geometry": "POINT(-62.5 -66)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "AMD; NSF/USA; ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES; SHIPS; USAP-DC; NBP2303; Weddell Sea; Amd/Us; Antarctic Peninsula", "locations": "Antarctic Peninsula; Weddell Sea", "north": -62.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Gerken, Sarah", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e SHIPS", "repo": "Alabama Museum of Natural History, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa", "repositories": "Alabama Museum of Natural History, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": -70.0, "title": "RAPID: Monographing the Antarctic and Subantarctic Cumacea", "uid": "p0010338", "west": -70.0}, {"awards": "1951500 Jenouvrier, Stephanie", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": "Data from: Individual life histories: Neither slow nor fast, just diverse; Evo-Demo Hyperstate Matrix Model Code Repository; Hyperstate matrix model reveals the influence of personality on demography; Individual life histories: neither slow nor fast, just diverse; Plastic Behaviour Buffers Climate Variability in the Wandering Albatross; Strong winds reduce foraging success in albatrosses; Subtropical anticyclone impacts life-history traits of a marine top predator; The impact of boldness on demographic rates and lifehistory outcomes in the wandering albatross", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200454", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "GITHUB", "science_program": null, "title": "Evo-Demo Hyperstate Matrix Model Code Repository", "url": "https://github.com/fledge-whoi/Eco-EvoHyperstateModel"}, {"dataset_uid": "601770", "doi": "10.15784/601770", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Demography; Sub-Antarctic", "people": "Jenouvrier, Stephanie; Joanie, Van de Walle", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "The impact of boldness on demographic rates and lifehistory outcomes in the wandering albatross", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601770"}, {"dataset_uid": "200458", "doi": "10.5061/dryad.3bk3j9kpm", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "DRYAD", "science_program": null, "title": "Individual life histories: neither slow nor fast, just diverse", "url": "https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6181063.v1"}, {"dataset_uid": "200457", "doi": "10.5281/zenodo.10887354", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "ZENODO", "science_program": null, "title": "Plastic Behaviour Buffers Climate Variability in the Wandering Albatross", "url": "https://zenodo.org/records/14290546"}, {"dataset_uid": "200456", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "GITHUB", "science_program": null, "title": "Subtropical anticyclone impacts life-history traits of a marine top predator", "url": "https://github.com/fledge-whoi/Alba_Mascarene-High"}, {"dataset_uid": "200455", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "GITHUB", "science_program": null, "title": "Hyperstate matrix model reveals the influence of personality on demography", "url": "https://github.com/fledge-whoi/HyperstateWApopulationmodel"}, {"dataset_uid": "200459", "doi": "10.5281/zenodo.13881532", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "ZENODO", "science_program": null, "title": "Strong winds reduce foraging success in albatrosses", "url": "https://zenodo.org/records/13881532"}, {"dataset_uid": "200453", "doi": "10.5061/dryad.3bk3j9kpm", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Dryad", "science_program": null, "title": "Data from: Individual life histories: Neither slow nor fast, just diverse", "url": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3bk3j9kpm"}], "date_created": "Wed, 08 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Part I: Nontechnical description: This award represents a collaborative geoscience research effort between US NSF and UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) researchers with efforts in each nation funded by their respective countries (Dear Colleague Letter NSF 16-132). The research will focus on understanding the links between behavior, ecology, and evolution in a Southern Ocean wandering albatross population in response to global changes in climate and in exploitation of natural resources. The most immediate response of animals to global change typically is behavioral, and this work will provide a more comprehensive understanding of how differences individual bird behavior affect evolution and adaptation for the population under changing environments. Characterization of albatross personality, life-history traits, and population dynamics collected over long time scales will be used to develop robust forecasting of species persistence in the face of future global changes. The results of this project will feed into conservation and management decisions for endangered Southern Ocean species. The work will also be used to provide specific research training at all levels, including a postdoctoral scholar, graduate students and K-12 students. It will also support education for the public about impacts from human-induced activities on our polar ecosystems using animations, public lectures, printed and web media. Part II: Technical description Past research has shown that individual animal personalities range over a continuum of behavior, such that some individuals are consistently more aggressive, more explorative, and bolder than others. How the phenotypic distributions of personality and foraging behavior types within a population is created and maintained by ecological (demographic and phenotypic plasticity) and evolutionary (heritability) processes remain an open question. Differences in personality traits determine how individuals acquire resources and how they allocate these to reproduction and survival. Although some studies have found different foraging behaviors or breeding performances between personality types, none have established the link between personality differences in foraging behaviors and life histories (both reproduction and survival, and their covariations) in the context of global change. Furthermore, plasticity in foraging behaviors is not considered in the pace-of-life syndrome, which has potentially hampered our ability to find covariation between personality and life history trade-off. This project will fill these knowledge gaps and develop an eco-evolutionary model of the complex interactions among individual personality and foraging plasticity, heritability of personality and foraging behaviors, life history strategies, population dynamics in a changing environment (fisheries and climate) using a long-term database consisting of ~1,800 tagged wandering albatross seabirds (Diomedea exulans) with defined individual personalities and life history traits breeding in the Southern Ocean. Climate projections from IPCC atmospheric-oceanic global circulation models will be used to provide projections of population structure under future global change conditions. Specifically, the team will (1) characterize the differences in life history strategies along the shy-bold continuum of personalities and across environmental conditions; (2) develop the link between phenotypic plasticity in foraging effort and personality; (3) characterize the heritability of personality and foraging behaviors; (4) develop a stochastic eco-evolutionary model to predict population growth rates in a changing environment. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; AMD; ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS; OCEAN TEMPERATURE; USA/NSF; Antarctica; FIELD INVESTIGATION; SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS; PENGUINS; Amd/Us", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Jenouvrier, Stephanie; Patrick, Samantha", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repo": "GITHUB", "repositories": "Dryad; DRYAD; GITHUB; USAP-DC; ZENODO", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "NSFGEO-NERC: Integrating Individual Personality Differences in the Evolutionary Ecology of a Seabird in the Rapidly Changing Polar Environment", "uid": "p0010283", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1850988 Teets, Nicholas", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-64.366767 -62.68104,-63.9917036 -62.68104,-63.6166402 -62.68104,-63.2415768 -62.68104,-62.8665134 -62.68104,-62.49145 -62.68104,-62.1163866 -62.68104,-61.7413232 -62.68104,-61.3662598 -62.68104,-60.9911964 -62.68104,-60.616133 -62.68104,-60.616133 -62.9537037,-60.616133 -63.2263674,-60.616133 -63.4990311,-60.616133 -63.7716948,-60.616133 -64.0443585,-60.616133 -64.3170222,-60.616133 -64.5896859,-60.616133 -64.8623496,-60.616133 -65.1350133,-60.616133 -65.407677,-60.9911964 -65.407677,-61.3662598 -65.407677,-61.7413232 -65.407677,-62.1163866 -65.407677,-62.49145 -65.407677,-62.8665134 -65.407677,-63.2415768 -65.407677,-63.6166402 -65.407677,-63.9917036 -65.407677,-64.366767 -65.407677,-64.366767 -65.1350133,-64.366767 -64.8623496,-64.366767 -64.5896859,-64.366767 -64.3170222,-64.366767 -64.0443585,-64.366767 -63.7716948,-64.366767 -63.4990311,-64.366767 -63.2263674,-64.366767 -62.9537037,-64.366767 -62.68104))", "dataset_titles": "Belgica antarctica collection sites - Summer 2023/2024 field season; Cold and dehydration tolerance of Belgica antarctica from three distinct geographic locations; Cross-tolerance in Belgica antarctica near Palmer Peninsula; Data from Edgington, H., Pavinato, V.A.C., Spacht, D., Gantz, J.D., Convey, P., Lee, R.E., Denlinger, D.L., Michel, A., 2023. Genetic history, structure and gene flow among populations of Belgica antarctica, the only free-living insect in the western Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Science 36, 100945.; Data from microplastics exposure in Belgica antarctica; Fine\u2011scale variation in microhabitat conditions influences physiology and metabolism in an Antarctic insect; Information on 2023 collection sites for Belgica antarctica; LMG2002 Expedtition Data; Long-term recovery from freezing in Belgica antarctica; Multiple stress tolerance in the Antarctic midge; Simulated winter warming negatively impacts survival of Antarcticas only endemic insect; Stress tolerance in Belgica antarctica and Eretmoptera murphyi; Temporal and spatial variation in stress tolerance in Belgica antarctica populations from distinct islands", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601873", "doi": "10.15784/601873", "keywords": "Antarctica; Belgica Antarctica; Cryosphere; Population Genetics", "people": "Sousa Lima, Cleverson; Michel, Andrew; Hayward, Scott; Teets, Nicholas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Temporal and spatial variation in stress tolerance in Belgica antarctica populations from distinct islands", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601873"}, {"dataset_uid": "601875", "doi": "10.15784/601875", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Sousa Lima, Cleverson; Teets, Nicholas; Hayward, Scott; Michel, Andrew", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Belgica antarctica collection sites - Summer 2023/2024 field season", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601875"}, {"dataset_uid": "601698", "doi": "10.15784/601698", "keywords": "Antarctica; Belgica Antarctica; Palmer Station", "people": "Sousa Lima, Cleverson; Teets, Nicholas; Devlin, Jack; Lecheta, Melise", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Long-term recovery from freezing in Belgica antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601698"}, {"dataset_uid": "601872", "doi": "10.15784/601872", "keywords": "Antarctica; Belgica Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Sousa Lima, Cleverson; Teets, Nicholas; Hayward, Scott; Colinet, Herve; Michel, Andrew", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Cross-tolerance in Belgica antarctica near Palmer Peninsula", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601872"}, {"dataset_uid": "601871", "doi": "10.15784/601871", "keywords": "Antarctica; Belgica Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Sousa Lima, Cleverson; Pavinato, Vitor; Gantz, Josiah D.; Devlin, Jack; Michel, Andrew; Hayward, Scott; Teets, Nicholas; Aquilino, Monica; Kawarasaki, Yuta", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Stress tolerance in Belgica antarctica and Eretmoptera murphyi", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601871"}, {"dataset_uid": "601867", "doi": "10.15784/601867", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Cryosphere", "people": "Teets, Nicholas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Multiple stress tolerance in the Antarctic midge", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601867"}, {"dataset_uid": "601866", "doi": "10.15784/601866", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Cryosphere", "people": "Devlin, Jack; Teets, Nicholas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Data from microplastics exposure in Belgica antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601866"}, {"dataset_uid": "601865", "doi": "10.15784/601865", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Cryosphere; Seasonality", "people": "Spacht, Drew; Devlin, Jack; Gantz, Josiah D.; Teets, Nicholas; Denlinger, David; Lee, Richard; McCabe, Eleanor", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Fine\u2011scale variation in microhabitat conditions influences physiology and metabolism in an Antarctic insect", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601865"}, {"dataset_uid": "601864", "doi": "10.15784/601864", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Cryosphere", "people": "Teets, Nicholas; Kawarasaki, Yuta", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Cold and dehydration tolerance of Belgica antarctica from three distinct geographic locations", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601864"}, {"dataset_uid": "200438", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI", "science_program": null, "title": "Data from Edgington, H., Pavinato, V.A.C., Spacht, D., Gantz, J.D., Convey, P., Lee, R.E., Denlinger, D.L., Michel, A., 2023. Genetic history, structure and gene flow among populations of Belgica antarctica, the only free-living insect in the western Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Science 36, 100945.", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA565153/"}, {"dataset_uid": "200222", "doi": "10.7284/908802", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "LMG2002 Expedtition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG2002"}, {"dataset_uid": "200437", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Stress tolerance in Belgica antarctica and Eretmoptera murphyi", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601874"}, {"dataset_uid": "601687", "doi": "10.15784/601687", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Belgica Antarctica; Biota; Sample Location", "people": "Kawarasaki, Yuta; Peter, Convey; Michel, Andrew; Teets, Nicholas; Devlin, Jack; Gantz, Joseph; Pavinato, Vitor; Sousa Lima, Cleverson", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Information on 2023 collection sites for Belgica antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601687"}, {"dataset_uid": "200425", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Simulated winter warming negatively impacts survival of Antarcticas only endemic insect", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601694"}], "date_created": "Fri, 25 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The cold, dry terrestrial environments of Antarctica are inhospitable for insects, and only three midge species make Antarctica home. Of these, Belgica antarctica is the only species found exclusively in Antarctica, and it has been a resident of Antarctica since the continent split from South America ~30 million years ago. Thus, this species is an excellent system to model the biological history of Antarctica throughout its repeated glaciation events and shifts in climate. This insect is also a classic example of extreme adaptation, and much previous work has focused on identifying the genetic and physiological mechanisms that allow this species to survive where no other insect is capable. However, it has been difficult to pinpoint the unique evolutionary adaptations that are required to survive in Antarctica due to a lack of information from closely related Antarctic and sub-Antarctic species. This project will compare adaptations, genome sequences, and population characteristics of four midge species that span an environmental gradient from sub-Antarctic to Antarctic habitats. In addition to B. antarctica, these species include two species that are strictly sub-Antarctic and a third that is native to the sub-Antarctic but has invaded parts of Antarctica. The researchers, comprised of scientists from the US, UK, Chile, and France, will sample insects from across their geographic range and measure their ability to tolerate environmental stressors (i.e., cold and desiccation), quantify molecular responses to stress, and compare the makeup of the genome and patterns of genetic diversity. This research will contribute to a greater understanding of adaptation to extremes, to an understanding of biodiversity on the planet and to understanding and predicting changes accompanying environmental change. The project will train two graduate students and two postdoctoral researchers, and a K-12 educator will be a member of the field team and will assist with fieldwork and facilitate outreach with schools in the US. The project includes partnership activities with several STEM education organizations to deliver educational content to K-12 and secondary students. This is a project that is jointly funded by the National Science Foundation\u0027s Directorate of Geosciences (NSF/GEO) and the National Environment Research Council (NERC) of the United Kingdom (UK) via the NSF/GEO-NERC Lead Agency Agreement. This Agreement allows a single joint US/UK proposal to be submitted and peer-reviewed by the Agency whose investigator has the largest proportion of the budget. Each Agency funds the proportion of the budget and the investigators associated with its own country. UK participation in this project includes deploying scientists as part of the field team, supporting field and sampling logistics at remote Antarctic sites, and genome sequencing, annotation, and analyses. This project focuses on the key physiological adaptations and molecular processes that allow a select few insect species to survive in Antarctica. The focal species are all wingless with limited dispersal capacity, suggesting there is also significant potential to locally adapt to variable environmental conditions across the range of these species. The central hypothesis is that similar molecular mechanisms drive both population-level adaptation to local environmental conditions and macroevolutionary changes across species living in different environments. The specific aims of the project are to 1) Characterize conserved and species-specific adaptations to extreme environments through comparative physiology and transcriptomics, 2) Compare the genome sequences of these species to identify genetic signatures of extreme adaption, and 3) Investigate patterns of diversification and local adaptation across each species? range using population genomics. The project establishes an international collaboration of researchers from the US, UK, Chile, and France with shared interests and complementary expertise in the biology, genomics, and conservation of Antarctic arthropods. The Broader Impacts of the project include training students and partnering with the Living Arts and Science Center to design and implement educational content for K-12 students. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -60.616133, "geometry": "POINT(-62.49145 -64.0443585)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Antarctic Peninsula; Livingston Island; Antarctica; USAP-DC; AMD; R/V LMG; USA/NSF; ARTHROPODS; Amd/Us; Anvers Island", "locations": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Anvers Island; Livingston Island", "north": -62.68104, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Teets, Nicholas; Michel, Andrew", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V LMG", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "NCBI; R2R; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -65.407677, "title": "NSFGEO-NERC: Mechanisms of Adaptation to Terrestrial Antarctica through Comparative Physiology and Genomics of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic Insects", "uid": "p0010203", "west": -64.366767}, {"awards": "1443386 Emslie, Steven; 1826712 McMahon, Kelton; 1443424 McMahon, Kelton; 1443585 Polito, Michael", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-166 -60,-152 -60,-138 -60,-124 -60,-110 -60,-96 -60,-82 -60,-68 -60,-54 -60,-40 -60,-40 -61.8,-40 -63.6,-40 -65.4,-40 -67.2,-40 -69,-40 -70.8,-40 -72.6,-40 -74.4,-40 -76.2,-40 -78,-54 -78,-68 -78,-82 -78,-96 -78,-110 -78,-124 -78,-138 -78,-152 -78,-166 -78,180 -78,178 -78,176 -78,174 -78,172 -78,170 -78,168 -78,166 -78,164 -78,162 -78,160 -78,160 -76.2,160 -74.4,160 -72.6,160 -70.8,160 -69,160 -67.2,160 -65.4,160 -63.6,160 -61.8,160 -60,162 -60,164 -60,166 -60,168 -60,170 -60,172 -60,174 -60,176 -60,178 -60,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": "Amino acid nitrogen isotope values of modern and ancient Ad\u00e9lie penguin eggshells from the Ross Sea and Antarctic Peninsula regions; Amino acid nitrogen isotope values of penguins from the Antarctic Peninsula region 1930s to 2010s; Amino acid nitrogen stable isotope values of feathers from adult and fledgling Ad\u00e9lie and chinstrap penguins from the South Shetlands Islands in 2012; Ancient Adelie penguin colony revealed by snowmelt at Cape Irizar, Ross Sea, Antarctica; Bulk tissue and amino acid stable isotope values of modern and historical Ad\u00e9lie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) feathers from the Ross Sea and Antarctic Peninsula regions (1840s to 2010s); Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values of Antarctic Krill from the South Shetland Islands and the northern Antarctic Peninsula 2007 and 2009; Radiocarbon dates from pygoscelid penguin tissues excavated at Stranger Point, King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula; Radiocarbon dating and stable isotope values of penguin and seal tissues recovered from ornithogenic soils on Platter Island, Danger Islands Archipelago, Antarctic Peninsula in December 2015.; Radioisotope dates and carbon (\u03b413C) and nitrogen (\u03b415N) stable isotope values from modern and mummified Ad\u00e9lie Penguin chick carcasses and tissue from the Ross Sea, Antarctica; Radiometric dating, geochemical proxies, and predator biological remains obtained from aquatic sediment cores on South Georgia Island.; Receding ice drove parallel expansions in Southern Ocean penguin; SNP data from \"Receding ice drove parallel expansions in Southern Ocean penguins\".; Stable isotope analysis of multiple tissues from chick carcasses of three pygoscelid penguins in Antarctica; Stable isotopes of Adelie Penguin chick bone collagen; The rise and fall of an ancient Adelie penguin \u0027supercolony\u0027 at Cape Adare, Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601232", "doi": "10.15784/601232", "keywords": "Amino Acids; Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Isotope Data; Nitrogen Isotopes; Oceans; Penguin; Southern Ocean; Stable Isotope Analysis", "people": "Polito, Michael; McMahon, Kelton", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Amino acid nitrogen isotope values of penguins from the Antarctic Peninsula region 1930s to 2010s", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601232"}, {"dataset_uid": "200180", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI BioProject", "science_program": null, "title": "Receding ice drove parallel expansions in Southern Ocean penguin", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA589336"}, {"dataset_uid": "200181", "doi": "10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4475300.v1", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Figshare", "science_program": null, "title": "SNP data from \"Receding ice drove parallel expansions in Southern Ocean penguins\".", "url": "https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4475300.v1"}, {"dataset_uid": "601210", "doi": "10.15784/601210", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Krill; Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Carbon Isotopes; Isotope Data; Krill; Nitrogen Isotopes; Oceans; Southern Ocean; Stable Isotope Analysis", "people": "Polito, Michael", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values of Antarctic Krill from the South Shetland Islands and the northern Antarctic Peninsula 2007 and 2009", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601210"}, {"dataset_uid": "601212", "doi": "10.15784/601212", "keywords": "Abandoned Colonies; Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Beach Deposit; Geochronology; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Holocene; Penguin; Radiocarbon; Radiocarbon Dates; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; Stranger Point", "people": "Emslie, Steven D.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Radiocarbon dates from pygoscelid penguin tissues excavated at Stranger Point, King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601212"}, {"dataset_uid": "601263", "doi": "10.15784/601263", "keywords": "Abandoned Colonies; Antarctica; Holocene; Penguin; Ross Sea; Stable Isotope Analysis", "people": "Kristan, Allyson; Emslie, Steven D.; Patterson, William", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Radioisotope dates and carbon (\u03b413C) and nitrogen (\u03b415N) stable isotope values from modern and mummified Ad\u00e9lie Penguin chick carcasses and tissue from the Ross Sea, Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601263"}, {"dataset_uid": "601327", "doi": "10.15784/601327", "keywords": "Adelie Penguin; Antarctica; Biota; Cape Adare; East Antarctica; Population Movement; Pygoscelis Adeliae; Radiocarbon; Ross Sea; Sea Level Rise; Stable Isotopes", "people": "McKenzie, Ashley; Emslie, Steven D.; Patterson, William", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "The rise and fall of an ancient Adelie penguin \u0027supercolony\u0027 at Cape Adare, Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601327"}, {"dataset_uid": "601364", "doi": "10.15784/601364", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Arctocephalus Gazella; Carbon; Holocene; Nitrogen; Paleoecology; Penguin; Pygoscelis Spp.; Stable Isotope Analysis; Weddell Sea", "people": "Kalvakaalva, Rohit; Polito, Michael; Herman, Rachael; Clucas, Gemma", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Radiocarbon dating and stable isotope values of penguin and seal tissues recovered from ornithogenic soils on Platter Island, Danger Islands Archipelago, Antarctic Peninsula in December 2015.", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601364"}, {"dataset_uid": "601374", "doi": "10.15784/601374", "keywords": "Adelie Penguin; Antarctica; Cape Irizar; Drygalski Ice Tongue; Ross Sea; Stable Isotopes", "people": "Emslie, Steven D.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Ancient Adelie penguin colony revealed by snowmelt at Cape Irizar, Ross Sea, Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601374"}, {"dataset_uid": "601382", "doi": "10.15784/601382", "keywords": "25 De Mayo/King George Island; Antarctica; Biota; Delta 13C; Delta 15N; Dietary Shifts; Opportunistic Sampling; Penguin; Pygoscelis Penguins; Stranger Point", "people": "Ciriani, Yanina; Emslie, Steven D.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Stable isotope analysis of multiple tissues from chick carcasses of three pygoscelid penguins in Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601382"}, {"dataset_uid": "601509", "doi": "10.15784/601509", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Fur Seal; Elemental Concentrations; King Penguin; Population Dynamics; South Atlantic Ocean; South Georgia Island; Stable Isotope Analysis; Sub-Antarctic", "people": "McMahon, Kelton; Kristan, Allyson; Polito, Michael; Maiti, Kanchan", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Radiometric dating, geochemical proxies, and predator biological remains obtained from aquatic sediment cores on South Georgia Island.", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601509"}, {"dataset_uid": "601760", "doi": "10.15784/601760", "keywords": "Adelie Penguin; Amino Acids; Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Ross Sea; Stable Isotope Analysis; Trophic Position", "people": "Michelson, Chantel; McCarthy, Matthew; Wonder, Michael; Emslie, Steven D.; Polito, Michael; Patterson, William; McMahon, Kelton", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Amino acid nitrogen isotope values of modern and ancient Ad\u00e9lie penguin eggshells from the Ross Sea and Antarctic Peninsula regions", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601760"}, {"dataset_uid": "601913", "doi": "10.15784/601913", "keywords": "Adelie Penguin; Antarctica; Cryosphere; Foraging; Polynya; Pygoscelis Adeliae; Ross Sea; Stable Isotopes", "people": "Emslie, Steven D.; Reaves, Megan; Powers, Shannon", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Stable isotopes of Adelie Penguin chick bone collagen", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601913"}, {"dataset_uid": "602061", "doi": "10.15784/602061", "keywords": "25 De Mayo/King George Island; Antarctica; Cryosphere; Livingston Island", "people": "Polito, Michael", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Amino acid nitrogen stable isotope values of feathers from adult and fledgling Ad\u00e9lie and chinstrap penguins from the South Shetlands Islands in 2012", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602061"}, {"dataset_uid": "602094", "doi": "10.15784/602094", "keywords": "Adelie Penguin; Amino Acid Stable Isotope Analysis; Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Cryosphere; Pygoscelis Adeliae; Ross Sea; Trophic Position", "people": "Emslie, Steven D.; Hart, Tom; McMahon, Kelton; Michelson, Chantel; Polito, Michael; Patterson, William; McCarthy, Matthew", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Bulk tissue and amino acid stable isotope values of modern and historical Ad\u00e9lie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) feathers from the Ross Sea and Antarctic Peninsula regions (1840s to 2010s)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602094"}], "date_created": "Thu, 08 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The Antarctic marine ecosystem is highly productive and supports a diverse range of ecologically and commercially important species. A key species in this ecosystem is Antarctic krill, which in addition to being commercially harvested, is the principle prey of a wide range of marine organisms including penguins, seals and whales. The aim of this study is to use penguins and other krill predators as sensitive indicators of past changes in the Antarctic marine food web resulting from climate variability and the historic harvesting of seals and whales by humans. Specifically this study will recover and analyze modern (\u003c20 year old), historic (20-200 year old) and ancient (200-10,000 year old) penguin and other krill predator tissues to track their past diets and population movements relative to shifts in climate and the availability of Antarctic krill. Understanding how krill predators were affected by these factors in the past will allow us to better understand how these predators, the krill they depend on, and the Antarctic marine ecosystem as a whole will respond to current challenges such as global climate change and an expanding commercial fishery for Antarctic krill. The project will further the NSF goals of training new generations of scientists and of making scientific discoveries available to the general public. This project will support the cross-institutional training of undergraduate and graduate students in advanced analytical techniques in the fields of ecology and biogeochemistry. In addition, this project includes educational outreach aimed encouraging participation in science careers by engaging K-12 students in scientific issues related to Antarctica, penguins, marine ecology, biogeochemistry, and global climate change. This research will help place recent ecological changes in the Southern Ocean into a larger historical context by examining decadal and millennial-scale shifts in the diets and population movements of Antarctic krill predators (penguins, seals, and squid) in concert with climate variability and commercial harvesting. This will be achieved by coupling advanced stable and radio isotope techniques, particularly compound-specific stable isotope analysis, with unprecedented access to modern, historical, and well-preserved paleo-archives of Antarctic predator tissues dating throughout the Holocene. This approach will allow the project to empirically test if observed shifts in Antarctic predator bulk tissue stable isotope values over the past millennia were caused by climate-driven shifts at the base of the food web in addition to, or rather than, shifts in predator diets due to a competitive release following the historic harvesting of krill eating whale and seals. In addition, this project will track the large-scale abandonment and reoccupation of penguin colonies around Antarctica in response to changes in climate and sea ice conditions over the past several millennia. These integrated field studies and laboratory analyses will provide new insights into the underlying mechanisms that influenced past shifts in the diets and population movements of charismatic krill predators such as penguins. This will allow for improved projections of the ecosystem consequences of future climate change and anthropogenic harvesting scenarios in the Antarctica that are likely to affect the availability of Antarctic krill.", "east": -40.0, "geometry": "POINT(-120 -69)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "ANIMAL ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR; South Shetland Islands; Penguin; Stable Isotopes; Polar; Ross Sea; USA/NSF; Weddell Sea; AMD; MARINE ECOSYSTEMS; USAP-DC; Antarctica; PENGUINS; Southern Hemisphere; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Amd/Us; Krill; MACROFOSSILS", "locations": "Southern Hemisphere; Ross Sea; South Shetland Islands; Weddell Sea; Polar; Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Polito, Michael; Kelton, McMahon; Patterson, William; McCarthy, Matthew", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "Figshare; NCBI BioProject; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Investigating Holocene Shifts in the Diets and Paleohistory of Antarctic Krill Predators", "uid": "p0010047", "west": 160.0}, {"awards": "0632278 Ducklow, Hugh; 0632389 Murray, Alison", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-77 -62,-75.5 -62,-74 -62,-72.5 -62,-71 -62,-69.5 -62,-68 -62,-66.5 -62,-65 -62,-63.5 -62,-62 -62,-62 -62.7,-62 -63.4,-62 -64.1,-62 -64.8,-62 -65.5,-62 -66.2,-62 -66.9,-62 -67.6,-62 -68.3,-62 -69,-63.5 -69,-65 -69,-66.5 -69,-68 -69,-69.5 -69,-71 -69,-72.5 -69,-74 -69,-75.5 -69,-77 -69,-77 -68.3,-77 -67.6,-77 -66.9,-77 -66.2,-77 -65.5,-77 -64.8,-77 -64.1,-77 -63.4,-77 -62.7,-77 -62))", "dataset_titles": "IPY: Bacterioplankton Genomic Adaptations to Antarctic Winter", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600061", "doi": "10.15784/600061", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Chemistry:fluid; Chemistry:Fluid; Oceans; Southern Ocean", "people": "Murray, Alison; Grzymski, Joseph", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "IPY: Bacterioplankton Genomic Adaptations to Antarctic Winter", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600061"}], "date_created": "Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The Western Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing one of the most rapid rates of climate warming on Earth, with an increase of 5degrees C in the mean winter temperature in 50 years. Impacts on upper trophic levels are evident, though there have been few, if any studies that have considered the impacts on bacterioplankton in the Southern Ocean. This proposal will characterize the winter bacterioplankton genome, transcriptome, and proteome and discover those features (community composition, genes up-regulated, and proteins expressed) that are essential to winter bacterioplankton survival and livelihood. We have assembled a polar ocean ecology and genomics network including strategic partnerships with Palmer LTER, the British Antarctic Survey\u0027s ocean metagenome program, US and Canadian scientists studying the Arctic Ocean genome, an Australian colleague who specialized in archaeal proteomics, and French colleagues studying Sub-Antarctic and Coastal Adelie Land marine bacterioplankton. The primary objectives of this program are: 1 Describe the differences in diversity and genomic content between austral winter and summer bacterioplankton communities. 2. Investigate the winter-time bacterioplankton growth and cellular signals (mRNA and proteins expressed) in order to understand the specific adaptations key to survival. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eOur results will extend from the Antarctic to the Arctic - as the cold, dark, carbon-limited deep seas linking these two systems have many common features. Education and outreach activities target (i) undergraduate and graduate students, hopefully including minority students recruited through the Diversity in Research in Environmental and Marine Sciences (DREAMS) Program at VIMS; (ii) a broad audience with our education and outreach partnerships with The Cousteau Society and with the Census for Antarctic Marine Life program. Data and links to external databases will be listed on the http://genex2.dri.edu website. Sequence data will be publicly accessible in GenBank and IMG-M databases.", "east": -62.0, "geometry": "POINT(-69.5 -65.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -62.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Murray, Alison; Grzymski, Joseph; Ducklow, Hugh", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -69.0, "title": "IPY: Bacterioplankton Genomic Adaptations to Antarctic Winter", "uid": "p0000091", "west": -77.0}, {"awards": "0132032 Detrich, H. William", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-68.84315 -42.87167,-61.576321 -42.87167,-54.309492 -42.87167,-47.042663 -42.87167,-39.775834 -42.87167,-32.509005 -42.87167,-25.242176 -42.87167,-17.975347 -42.87167,-10.708518 -42.87167,-3.441689 -42.87167,3.82514 -42.87167,3.82514 -44.482708,3.82514 -46.093746,3.82514 -47.704784,3.82514 -49.315822,3.82514 -50.92686,3.82514 -52.537898,3.82514 -54.148936,3.82514 -55.759974,3.82514 -57.371012,3.82514 -58.98205,-3.441689 -58.98205,-10.708518 -58.98205,-17.975347 -58.98205,-25.242176 -58.98205,-32.509005 -58.98205,-39.775834 -58.98205,-47.042663 -58.98205,-54.309492 -58.98205,-61.576321 -58.98205,-68.84315 -58.98205,-68.84315 -57.371012,-68.84315 -55.759974,-68.84315 -54.148936,-68.84315 -52.537898,-68.84315 -50.92686,-68.84315 -49.315822,-68.84315 -47.704784,-68.84315 -46.093746,-68.84315 -44.482708,-68.84315 -42.87167))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "001655", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0404"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Notothenioid fish are a major group of fish in the Southern Ocean. The ancestral notothenioid fish stock of Antarctica probably arose as a sluggish, bottom-dwelling perciform species that evolved some 40-60 million years ago in the then temperate shelf waters of the Antarctic continent. The grounding of the ice sheet on the continental shelf and changing trophic conditions may have eliminated the taxonomically diverse late Eocene fauna and initiated the original diversification of notothenioids. On the High Antarctic shelf, notothenioids today dominate the ichthyofauna in terms of species diversity, abundance and biomass, the latter two at levels of 90-95%. Since the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58, fish biologists from the Antarctic Treaty nations have made impressive progress in understanding the notothenioid ichthyofauna of the cold Antarctic marine ecosystem. However, integration of this work into the broader marine context has been limited, largely due to lack of access to, and analysis of, specimens of Sub-Antarctic notothenioid fishes. Sub-Antarctic fishes of the notothenioid suborder are critical for a complete understanding of the evolution, population dynamics, eco-physiology, and eco-biochemistry of their Antarctic relatives. This project will support an international, collaborative research cruise to collect and study fish indigenous to sub-antarctic habitats. The topics included in the research plans of the international team of researchers includes Systematics and Evolutionary Studies; Life History Strategies and Population Dynamics; Physiological, Biochemical, and Molecular Biological Investigations of Major Organ and Tissue Systems; Genomic Resources for the Sub-Antarctic Notothenioids; and Ecological Studies of Transitional Benthic Invertebrates. In a world that is experiencing changes in global climate, the loss of biological diversity, and the depletion of marine fisheries, the Antarctic, Sub-Antarctic, and their biota offer compelling natural laboratories for understanding the evolutionary impacts of these processes. The proposed work will contribute to development of a baseline understanding of these sensitive ecosystems, one against which future changes in species distribution and survival may be evaluated judiciously.", "east": 3.82514, "geometry": "POINT(-32.509005 -50.92686)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e ADCP", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "R/V NBP", "locations": null, "north": -42.87167, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Detrich, H. William", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": -58.98205, "title": "International Collaborative Expedition to Collect and Study Fish Indigenous to Sub-Antarctic Habitats", "uid": "p0000584", "west": -68.84315}, {"awards": "0436190 Eastman, Joseph", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": "Biodiversity, Buoyancy and Morphological Studies of Non-Antarctic Notothenioid Fishes", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600038", "doi": "10.15784/600038", "keywords": "Biota; NBP0404; Oceans; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Southern Ocean", "people": "Eastman, Joseph", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Biodiversity, Buoyancy and Morphological Studies of Non-Antarctic Notothenioid Fishes", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600038"}], "date_created": "Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Patterns of biodiversity, as revealed by basic research in organismal biology, may be derived from ecological and evolutionary processes expressed in unique settings, such as Antarctica. The polar regions and their faunas are commanding increased attention as declining species diversity, environmental change, commercial fisheries, and resource management are now being viewed in a global context. Commercial fishing is known to have a direct and pervasive effect on marine biodiversity, and occurs in the Southern Ocean as far south as the Ross Sea. \u003cbr/\u003eThe nature of fish biodiversity in the Antarctic is different than in all other ocean shelf areas. Waters of the Antarctic continental shelf are ice covered for most of the year and water temperatures are nearly constant at -1.5 C. In these waters components of the phyletically derived Antarctic clade of Notothenioids dominate fish diversity. In some regions, including the southwestern Ross Sea, Notothenioids are overwhelmingly dominant in terms of number of species, abundance, and biomass. Such dominance by a single taxonomic group is unique among shelf faunas of the world. In the absence of competition from a taxonomically diverse fauna, Notothenioids underwent a habitat or depth related diversification keyed to the utilization of unfilled niches in the water column, especially pelagic or partially pelagic zooplanktivory and piscivory. This has been accomplished in the absence of a swim bladder for buoyancy control. They also may form a special type of adaptive radiation known as a species flock, which is an assemblage of a disproportionately high number of related species that have evolved rapidly within a defined area where most species are endemic. Diversification in buoyancy is the hallmark of the notothenioid radiation. Buoyancy is the feature of notothenioid biology that determines whether a species lives on the substrate, in the water column or both. Buoyancy also influences other key aspects of life history including swimming, feeding and reproduction and thus has implications for the role of the species in the ecosystem. \u003cbr/\u003eWith similarities to classic evolutionary hot spots, the Antarctic shelf and its Notothenioid radiation merit further exploration. The 2004 \"International Collaborative Expedition to collect and study Fish Indigenous to Sub-Antarctic Habitats,\" or, \"ICEFISH,\" provided a platform for collection of notothenioid fishes from sub-Antarctic waters between South America and Africa, which will be examined in this project. This study will determine buoyancy for samples of all notothenioid species captured during the ICEFISH cruise. This essential aspect of the biology is known for only 19% of the notothenioid fauna. Also, the gross and microscopic anatomy of brains and sense organs of the phyletically basal families Bovichtidae, Eleginopidae, and of the non-Antarctic species of the primarily Antarctic family Nototheniidae will be examined. The fish biodiversity and endemicity in poorly known localities along the ICEFISH cruise track, seamounts and deep trenches will be quantified. Broader impacts include improved information for comprehending and conserving biodiversity, a scientific and societal priority.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Eastman, Joseph", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Biodiversity, Buoyancy and Morphological Studies of Non-Antarctic Notothenioid Fishes", "uid": "p0000106", "west": -180.0}]

View results on map Help on results map