USAP-DC

The application of innovative ocean observing and animal telemetry technology over Palmer Deep (Western Antarctic Peninsula; WAP) is leading to new understanding, and also to many new questions related to polar ecosystem processes and their control by bio-physical interactions in the polar environment. This multi-platform field study will investigate the impact of coastal physical processes (e.g. tides, currents, upwelling events, sea-ice) on Adélie penguin foraging ecology in the vicinity of Palmer Deep, off Anvers Island, WAP. Guided by real-time surface convergence and divergences based on remotely sensed surface current maps derived from a coastal network of High Frequency Radars (HFRs), a multidisciplinary research team will adaptively sample the distribution of phytoplankton and zooplankton, which influence Adélie penguin foraging ecology, to understand how local oceanographic processes structure the ecosystem.

Core educational objectives of this proposal are to increase awareness and
understanding of (i) global climate change, (ii) the unique WAP ecosystem, (iii) innovative methods and technologies used by the researchers, and (iv) careers in ocean sciences, through interactive interviews with scientists, students, and technicians, during the field work. These activities will be directed towards instructional programming for K-16 students and their teachers. Researchers and educators will conduct formative and summative evaluation to improve the educational program and measure its impacts respectively.

Person	Role
Bernard, Kim	Investigator and contact
Kohut, Josh	Investigator
Oliver, Matthew	Investigator
Fraser, William	Investigator
Winsor, Peter	Investigator

Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems	Award # 1331681
Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems	Award # 1327248
Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences	Award # 1326541
Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems	Award # 1326541
Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems	Award # 1326167
Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems	Award # 1324313

LMG1509
USAP-1331681_1

Deployment	Type
2013-2014 Field Season Palmer Station	general deployment
2014-2015 Field Season Palmer Station
LMG1509	ship expedition

None in the Database

Repository	Title (link)	Format(s)	Status
R2R	Expedition Data	Not Provided	exist
R2R	Expedition data of LMG1509	Not Provided	exists

1. Hudson, K., Oliver, M. J., Bernard, K., Cimino, M. A., Fraser, W., Kohut, J., … Winsor, P. (2019). Reevaluating the Canyon Hypothesis in a Biological Hotspot in the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 124(8), 6345–6359. (doi:10.1029/2019jc015195)
2. Cimino, M. A., Patterson‐Fraser, D. L., Stammerjohn, S., & Fraser, W. R. (2019). The interaction between island geomorphology and environmental parameters drives Adélie penguin breeding phenology on neighboring islands near Palmer Station, Antarctica. Ecology and Evolution, 9(16), 9334–9349. (doi:10.1002/ece3.5481)
3. Bernard, K. S., Cimino, M., Fraser, W., Kohut, J., Oliver, M. J., Patterson-Fraser, D., … Winsor, P. (2017). Factors that affect the nearshore aggregations of Antarctic krill in a biological hotspot. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 126, 139–147. (doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2017.05.008)
4. Oliver, M. J., Kohut, J. T., Bernard, K., Fraser, W., Winsor, P., Statscewich, H., … Carvalho, F. (2019). Central place foragers select ocean surface convergent features despite differing foraging strategies. Scientific Reports, 9(1). (doi:10.1038/s41598-018-35901-7)
5. Carvalho, F., Kohut, J., Oliver, M. J., & Schofield, O. (2017). Defining the ecologically relevant mixed‐layer depth for Antarctica’s coastal seas. Geophysical Research Letters, 44(1), 338–345. (doi:10.1002/2016gl071205)
6. Ainley, D. G., Crockett, E. L., Eastman, J. T., Fraser, W. R., Nur, N., O’Brien, K., … Siniff, D. B. (2017). How overfishing a large piscine mesopredator explains growth in Ross Sea penguin populations: A framework to better understand impacts of a controversial fishery. Ecological Modelling, 349, 69–75. (doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2016.12.021)
7. Kohut, J. T., Winsor, P., Statscewich, H., Oliver, M. J., Fredj, E., Couto, N., … Fraser, W. (2018). Variability in summer surface residence time within a West Antarctic Peninsula biological hotspot. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 376(2122), 20170165. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2017.0165)
8. Hudson, K., Oliver, M. J., Kohut, J., Dinniman, M. S., Klinck, J. M., Moffat, C., … Fraser, W. (2021). A Recirculating Eddy Promotes Subsurface Particle Retention in an Antarctic Biological Hotspot. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 126(11). (doi:10.1029/2021jc017304)
9. Pickett, E. P., Fraser, W. R., Patterson‐Fraser, D. L., Cimino, M. A., Torres, L. G., & Friedlaender, A. S. (2018). Spatial niche partitioning may promote coexistence of Pygoscelis penguins as climate‐induced sympatry occurs. Ecology and Evolution, 8(19), 9764–9778. (doi:10.1002/ece3.4445)