NSF Web Site
U.S . An tar ctic P ro gr am , 2 0 04 –
20 0 5
BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
I. Ae ron o m y an d Astro p hy sics
Pal mer Sta tion suppo rts U.S. a nd coo pe rativ e
resea rch in the Antarctic Pe ninsula re gio n.
Sci entists wo rk at the statio n la bo ra to ry a nd on
ne arby isla nds. ( NSF/ USA P pho to by J effre y
Kietzma nn, Ray the on Po lar Se rvice Co rp.)
II . Bio log y an d Me d icin e
II I. Lo n g -Te rm Eco lo g ical
Rese arch
IV. Oce an a n d C lim a te Sy stem s
V. G eo lo gy a nd Ge op h ysics
VI. Gl acio lo gy
VII . Arti sts an d W rite rs
Pr og ra m
PD F Ver sion
On this page:
OP P h om e p ag e
Ant arcti c S cien ce s S ectio n
Po la r Re se ar ch S up p or t S ecti on
U.S . An n ua l An tar ctic T re aty
Ex cha n ge o f In fo rm a tio n
z Ov erv iew
z Impact o f so lar ra dia tion and nutrients o n biogeo chemica l cy cling of
dime thylsulfo niopro pio na te and dime thy lsulfide in the Ro ss Se a, Anta rctica.
z Response of terre strial e co syste ms a long the Antarctic Pe ninsula to a changing
clim ate .
z Antifre eze prote ins in a ntarctic fishes: Integra ted studies of fre ezing env ironme nts
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and o rga nismal free zing av oidance, pr ote in structure - functio n a nd me cha nism ,
ge ne s, and e vo lution.
Ener ge tics o f prote in me tabolism during dev elo pm ent o f a nta rctic e chino de rms.
Patte rns a nd pr ocesse s: Dy na mics of the Erebus Ba y We dde ll se al po pula tion.
Com munity dyna mics in a po lar e cosyste m: Be nthic reco ve ry fr om o rga nic
enrichment in the Anta rctic.
Biogeo che mistry o f Victo ria La nd co astal ponds: R ole in terre strial e co syste m
organic carbon dynam ics a nd str ucture .
Remo tely o pera ble m icroe nviro nm ental o bse rva tory fo r a ntarctic mar ine bio logy
resea rch.
Cultura l e me rge nce and hea lth in Antar ctica .
Ge no mic netwo rks fo r cold- adaptatio n in e mbr yo s o f pola r m arine inve rtebra tes.
Ge ogra phic str ucture o f Adé lie pe nguin populatio ns: De mogra phy o f popula tion
expa nsio n.
Occupatio n histo ry a nd die t o f Adé lie penguins in the Ross Sea region, A nta rctica.
Cold bo dy te mpera ture as an evo lutiona ry shaping force in the physio logy of
antarctic fishes.
Inv estigatio ns o n deter iora tion in the histo ric huts of A nta rctica.
For aging be havio r and dem ogra phy of P ygoscel is penguins.
Inte rannual va riability in the Antar ctic –Ross Sea ( IVARS) : Nutrie nts and se aso na l
pro ductio n.
Long-te rm data co llectio n at sele ct Antar ctic Pe ninsula v isitor sites.
Distribution and e co lo gy o f a mmo nia - oxidizing bacte ria in the P alme r Long-Te rm
Eco logical Re sea rch study a rea .
Microbia l dive rsity and functio n in the perm anently ice - co ve red lak es of the
McMurdo Dr y Valle ys, Antar ctica .
Div ing phy sio lo gy a nd be hav ior of emper or penguins.
Monito ring the huma n impa ct and e nv ironme ntal va riability o n Ad élie pe nguins a t
Pal mer Sta tion, Antar ctica .
Effe cts o f fora ging on the lipid biochem istry of fre ely divi ng Weddell sea ls.
Inte ractiv e effe cts o f ultrav iole t ra dia tio n and v ertica l m ixing o n phy topla nk ton
and bacter ial productivity o f Ro ss Se a Phae ocystis bloo m.
z Ultra vio let -radiatio n-induced changes in the patte rns o f production a nd
co mpositio n o f biochem ica l co mpo unds in anta rctic ma rine phy toplank ton.
z Com pa rativ e and quantitativ e studies of protista n mo lecula r e colo gy and
physio logy in co asta l a nta rctic wa ters.
z Southern Oce an GLOBEC (Glo ba l Oce an Ecosy ste m Dy namics) M ysticete whal e
acoustic ce nsus in the GLOBEC we st a nta rctic pro je ct a rea .
z Physio logical and m ole cula r me cha nisms o f stre ss tol era nce in a po la r insect.
z Soil biodive rsity and re spo nse to climate cha nge: A re gio nal com pa rison of Cape
Ha llett and Tay lor Va lley , Antar ctica .
z Hy dro logic control s o ver bioge ochemistr y a nd micro bia l co mmunity structure a nd
functio n a cross te rrestria l/a qua tic inter fa ces i n a pola r de se rt.
z Rele va nce o f plankto nic la rva l dispersa l to e ndem ism and biogeo graphy of
antarctic be nthic inve rtebra tes.
z Ge ne tic a nd pho togra mme tric inve stiga tions o f three e coty pe s o f kille r whale s in
the so uther n Ro ss Se a.
z Or igin and e vo lutio n o f anta rctic a nd dee p- se a ma croinfauna: Sy ste ma tics a nd
repro ductive patte rns o f poly cha ete s.
z Biogeo che mistry o f dissolv ed o rga nic m ater ial in P ony La ke, Ro ss Isla nd.
z Salpa thompsoni in the So uthe rn Ocea n: Bio ener ge tics, po pula tion dy namics, a nd
bio ge ochem ical impact.
z What limits de nitr ifica tion a nd bacter ial grow th in La ke B onney, Ta ylo r Valle y,
Anta rctica?
z Pre ventio n o f envi ronme nt -induced decre ments in mo od and co gnitive
pe rfo rma nce .
z SPISE3 ( Science Pa cka ge fo r the Explo ratio n o f Extre me Env iro nm ents 3): A
no nco ntact instrume nt suite fo r ra pid de tectio n o f che mica l biosignature s.
z Te mpo ra l v aria bility in natura l a nd a nthro po genic disturba nce of M cMurdo Statio n,
Anta rctica.
Overview
Anta rctica is a pla ce like no o the r; as an
intriguing habitat, i t is a scientist's drea m.
It is a land w he re wa te r is sca rce —tr uly a
de se rt —de spite hav ing mo re than two thirds of the wo rld's freshwa ter supply
tr appe d in ice . Though it bo rde rs the
world's major o cea ns, the Souther n Ocea n
sy stem is unique i n the world, a se a where
ave ra ge te mpera tur es do no t re ach 2 °C in
summ er, whe re e ven the wa ter is so
unusua l tha t it can be identified tho usa nds
of k ilome ters aw ay in curre nts that
originate d here . As the Ea rth, tilte d on its
rota tional a xis, ma ke s its elliptical journey
aro und the Sun ea ch y ea r, the Sun "se ts" in
April , not to be se en again until Se pte mber.
And the ice —an unima ginable ,
inco mpara ble vastness o f ice —appe ars in a
do zen diffe rent va rietie s, at time s a nd in
pla ces se ve ral thousand m eter s thick; ther e
are two m ajor ice shee ts that cha nge a ll the
tim e. (The e aste rn shee t is large r than mo st
co untri es.)
RPSC science technician Zan Stine wo rks
in the labor ator y at Pa lme r Sta tion. The
major ity o f the scie nce co nducted at
Pal mer Sta tion is biolo gy , o ceano gr aphy
or ae rono my. The la bs at all three U .S.
sta tions a re fully e quipped to facilita te
scie ntific rese arch. ( NSF/ USA P pho to by
Kristan Hutchi nso n, Ray the on Po lar
Serv ices Corp.)
Ada pta tions and behav ior dev elo pe d in
response to these e xtrem e co nditions
pro vide insight into the intrica cies, a s we ll
as the fundam ental proce sse s, o f ev olution. These e xtre mes hav e also driv en the
de vel opment of e cosy ste ms simple enough to re ve al wonderfully cle ar pi eces of the we b
of life o n Earth.
The Antarctic Biolo gy and Me dicine P ro gra m funds re sear ch to impro ve unde rstanding of
antarctic eco sy stems and li fe for ms —the ir physiolo gy, gene tics, be havi or, adaptatio ns,
and re latio nships. P rojects range acro ss a ll organiza tional lev els, fro m the mole cul e,
ge ne , cell , and o rganism to rel atio nships within co mmunities and e co syste ms, to the
leve l of glo ba l pro cesses and the biosphere . This is anothe r a rea of inquiry where
scie ntific go als and bene fits e xtend far bey ond le ar ning a bo ut flor a and fauna in the high
latitude s. Suppo rt is focused o n the follo wing ar ea s:
z Marine ecos ys tem dynamic s: Amo ng the rese arch topics a re under sta nding the
na tur al va riability o f ma rine eco sy stems, co rrela ting the str ucture a nd function o f
the ma rginal ice -zo ne e co syste m w ith oce anic and a tm ospheric pr ocesse s,
explo ring the so urce s o f nutr ition and their influe nce o n prey and o n prima ry
pro ductio n, and e xa mining the r ole o f ma rine phy to plankto n in ca rbo n -dio xide
cy cling.
z Terrest rial and limnet ic ec osys tems: Organisms in ice -fre e ar eas and in
pe rennially ice - co ve red lak es sho w re ma rka ble a daptatio ns to ex trem e
enviro nments. The fa ct that re lativ ely few species thrive her e fa cilitate s the study
of e co syste m dy na mics a nd the inte rpreta tion of e xper iments, a ltho ugh much
more rema ins to be le arned about adaptive m echanisms and e vo lutio nary
pro cesses.
z Popu lat ion biology an d p hysiolo gic al ecology: At the nex t le ve l, lo ok ing at
rela tionships amo ng o rga nisms, studie s hav e focused on the v aria bili ty and
dy na mics o f populatio ns o f kr ill a nd other zo oplankto n. Ecolo gica l r ela ti onships
amo ng and betwe en fish species, mar ine m amm als, a nd birds hav e also bee n the
subje ct o f much re sea rch, with ma ny issue s still to be further e xplore d. Adva nce s
in genetic testing now permi t scientists to establish re latio nships tha t we re
pre vio usly unve rifiable betwe en individua ls a nd species in the wild. As or ga nize d
pro grams o f a nta rctic scie nce e nte r the ir fifth deca de ( some ha ve bee n in
existe nce e ve n lo nger ), data se ts a nd ongoing o bse rva tions are e lucidating
anthr opogenic as well as natural changes.
z Ad aptat ion : Antar ctic ex trem es pre sent a funda me nta l re sea rch o ppor tunity;
to pics include lo w- te mpera ture photo sy nthe sis a nd respiratio n, e nzy matic
adaptatio ns, and a da ptiv e phy siolo gy , such as the de ve lopme nt of antifree ze
co mpounds in fish a nd mo dificatio ns to the circulato ry system in sea ls. There is
also co ntinuing inte rest in the re spo nse o f o rga nisms to incre ase d ultrav iole t- B
radiatio n fro m the o zone hole ( as well as its im pa ct o n them) . H ere , to o, ne w
mole cula r DN A a dv ances ha ve ha d a profo und im pa ct o n the types of studies tha t
ca n be mo unte d.
z Human behavior and medical research : Antar ctica 's e xtre me clima te and
te rra in impo se a spa rtan and unconve ntio nal e xistence o n scientists a nd other s
who l ive a nd work the re. As peo ple are subje cte d to so cial, psycho logical, and
physio logical stre sse s ( ex acer ba ted during the winter isola tion), opportunities for
resea rch a rise. Studie s focus o n e pi de miolo gy, the rmal re gula tion, im mune
sy stem function, individual behav ior, and gro up dynam ics.
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Impact of solar radiation and nutrients on
biogeochemical cycling of
dimethylsulfoniopropionate and dimethylsulfide
in the Ross Sea, Antarctica.
Ron ald P . Kiene, University of Sout h Alabama, an d D avid J. Kieb er, C ollege of
Environmen tal Sc ien ce and Fo res try (S yrac use), St ate Univers ity of New York.
Area s o f the Southern Ocean have specta cula r blo o ms o f phytopla nk ton during the
austral spr ing and e arly summe r. One o f the dom ina nt species, the ha pto phy te
Phae ocystis anta rctica , is a prol ific pr oduce r of the o rganic sulfur co mpo und
dime thylsulfo niopro pio na te (DMS P), and Phae ocystis bloo ms are a sso ciate d with so me o f
the wo rld's highe st co nce ntr atio ns of DM SP a nd its v ola tile de gr adatio n product,
dime thylsulfide (DM S). Sulfur, in the for m o f DMS, is tra nsfe rred fr om the oce ans to the
atmo spher e a nd can a ffe ct the che mistry o f precipitatio n a nd influence cloud prope rties
and, po ssibly , clima te. DM SP and DMS a re also quantitativ ely significant compo ne nts o f
the ca rbo n, sulfur, and e ne rgy flo ws in ma ny m arine foo d we bs, although ve ry little
infor matio n is av aila ble on the se pro cesses in high- latitude syste ms.
We will study how sol ar ra dia tion and iro n cycling a ffe ct DMSP a nd DM S pro ductio n by
phyto pla nkto n and the subse que nt use of these la bile fo rms of o rganic matte r by the
microbia l foo d we b. Fo ur interr ela ted hypo the ses will be te ste d in fie ld- ba sed
exper iments a nd in situ o bse rva tions:
z tha t so lar ra dia tion, including enha nced ultra vio let -B due to sea sona l o zone
de ple tion, pla ys a n im po rtant role in deter mining the net ecosy stem production o f
DM S in the R oss Sea ,
z tha t dev elo pm ent o f shallo w mixe d la yer s pro mote s the a ccumula tion o f DMS in
surface wa ter s beca use o f enhanced ex po sur e o f plankto n com munitie s to high
do ses of so lar ra dia tion,
z tha t DMSP pro ductio n and turno ver re prese nt a significant pa rt o f the carbon and
sulfur flux thr ough pola r fo od we bs, and
z tha t bloo m deve lopme nt a nd resulting nutrie nt depletio n ( e.g., iro n) will result in
high pro duction of DM SP and high DMS co nce ntra tions and a tmospheric fl ux es.
Results fro m this study will gr ea tly improv e under sta nding o f the unde rlying m echanisms
co ntrolling DMS P and DMS concentra tions in pola r wate rs, there by i mpr ov ing our ability
to pre dict DMS flux es to the atm osphe re from this impo rta nt clima tic re gio n.
We activ ely e nga ge high schoo l, unde rgr adua te, and graduate stude nts in o ur r esea rch
and ar e inv olv ed in form al pr ogram s that ta rge t underre pr esented gr oups. The
infor matio n gaine d fr om this re sea rch will also be used to teach undergra dua te and
gra dua te co urse s. (B –002–N and B–266–N; N SF/OP P 02–30497 and N SF/ OPP 02–30499)
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Response of terrestrial ecosystems along the
Antarctic Peninsula to a changing climate.
Thomas A. Day and Jeffrey M. Klopatek, Arizon a St ate Universit y– Temp e.
The striking incre ase s in a ir tempe rature s a nd ultra vio let - B ( UV–B) radiatio n do cume nted
alo ng the we st co ast of the Antar cti c P eninsula o ve r the past 50 ye ar s re pr esent a
pro fo und climatic change, a rgua bly larger than tha t e xper ienced by a ny o ther re gio n o n
Ea rth during thi s time . Alo ng with these we ll -do cum ented changes, a nnual precipitatio n
and the de pth of the winte r snow pack a lso a ppea r to be i ncre asing a long the Pe ninsula .
These ra pid cha nge s in clima te prov ide a unique o ppo rtunity to exa mine the effe cts o f
clim ate change on terre strial e co syste ms.
Building o n past work tha t focused on the impa ct o f war ming and U V–B ra diatio n on
te rre strial va scula r pla nts o n the Pe ninsula, we will ex am ine ho w clim ate change alte rs
nutrie nt (ca rbo n a nd nitro ge n) po ols and cycling a mo ng pla nts, litter, and so ils in
vascular - pla nt -do minate d com munitie s, with the o ve rall goa l o f predicting lo ng- te rm
effe cts o n plant pro ductivity . W e will use two co mpl eme nta ry a ppro aches.
In the fir st a ppro ach, we will study shor ter term re spo nses to clima te cha nge by
manipula ting tem pe rature , wa ter av aila bili ty , a nd U V–B e xposure o f va scula r- pla nt
microco sms ove r thr ee grow ing sea sons. W e will assess ho w the se ma nipulatio ns
influence pla nt grow th and prim ary pro ductivity , car bo n diox ide fluxe s, litter quality a nd
de co mpositio n, poo ls a nd tur no ve r rate s o f carbo n and nitro ge n, and the structure o f so il
microbia l a nd arthro po d co mmunities. These re alistic enviro nmental ma nipula tions wi ll
allo w us to a ccur ate ly assess the e ffe cts of differe nt future wa rming scena rios, as well as
the e ffects of so lar U V –B ra diatio n.
In the second a ppro ach, w e will e xa mine lo nger te rm responses to wa rming by
mea suri ng po ols of ca rbon and nitro ge n in pla nts, litter, a nd soils in plant co mmunities
alo ng transects tha t re prese nt gradie nts of long-te rm tem pe rature re gimes. Ana lyzing
the re sul ts from sho rt- te rm wa rming ma nipulatio ns in the co nte xt of pa tterns found
alo ng the se gra dients will ma ke it possible to deve lop a co nce ptual mo del of w armi ng
impa cts o ve r tim e.
The broa de r impacts o f this pro je ct include :
z recruiting and tr aining under gra dua te students fro m unde rrepre sented m inoritie s;
z dissem ina ting findings to the ge nera l public; a nd
z co ntributing to so ciety a t la rge by im pro ving o ur unde rstanding of ho w clim ate
cha nge a ffects pla nt productivity a nd e co syste m ca rbon sto ra ge , a s we ll a s
whe the r eco sy stem re spo nse s to clima te change will m itiga te or pro mote
co ntinue d buildups of gree nho use ga ses. ( B –003 –P; N SF/OP P 02–30579)
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Antifreeze proteins in antarctic fishes: Integrated
studies of freezing environments and organismal
freezing avoidance, protein structure-function
and mechanism, genes, and evolution.
Arth ur L. D eVries an d C hi -Hin g C heng , Univers it y of Illinois –Urban a-Champaign.
This pro je ct include s o ngo ing and new studie s o n the ro le of a ntifre eze glyco pro teins
(AFGP s) a nd a new antifree ze -po tentiating prote in ( AFP P) in the free zing av oidance o f
antarctic fishes and their e ggs a nd lar vae . The spe cific are as of rese arch to be
inv estigate d are :
z the ra te of upta ke o f endogenous ice by ice - fre e specime ns;
z the structure of AFPP and the me cha nism wher eby it po tentiate s the antifree ze
activity o f the lar ge AF GP s, but not the small o ne s;
z the structure -functio n e lucida tion o f e el po ut AF PP thro ugh directe d- evo lution
methodo logies;
z the me chanism of fre ezing a voi da nce in embry os and y oung la rva l fish, a nd the
te mpor al aspects o f AF GP and AFP P e xpressio n during embry ogenesis;
z co mprehe nsiv e anal yses of the a nti fre eze ca pa city at bo th the prote in a nd ge ne
leve ls a cro ss the subor de r N oto the nioidei;
z the e vo lutio n o f the AFGP gene family a nd gene locus;
z the e vo lutio n o f AFP P; a nd
z the o rigin o f the Pa ta gonoto then line age (nona nta rctic noto thenioids a nd close
rela tive s o f the ende mic antarctic noto thenioid spe ci es).
The ex trem e cold a nd icy conditions o f the McMurdo So und arise from its asso ciatio n with
the ma ssive Ro ss I ce She lf a nd the influe nce o f co ld shelf wa ter. To elucida te the
rela tionship be twee n the McMurdo e nv ironme nt a nd ice expo sure in the loca l fish
po pula tion, we wi ll co nduct par alle l physical me asurem ents o f the depth a nd ex te nt o f ice
fo rma tion i n va rio us micro enviro nments in the sound and w ill co mplete biolo gical
exper iments to de term ine i ce lo ad i n fi sh at the se loca tions by m easuring the numbe r of
ice cry sta ls in their sple ens, a s we ll as the ra te o f ice entry. The se studie s wil l a sce rta in
the re latio nship be twee n the de gr ee o f e nv ironme ntal ex treme s a nd the ice loa d in fish.
This pro je ct is asso ci ated with e xtensive inte rnatio na l co llabora tio n, and o ur findings ma y
ha ve bro ad im plica tions fo r a griculture, fo od science, a nd cryo me dicine. Public o utr ea ch
and tra ining of gra dua te and unde rgr adua te stude nts are inte gr al co mpo nents o f the
work . (B –005–M; NSF /OP P 02 –31006)
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Energetics of protein metabolism during
development of antarctic echinoderms.
Donal T. Manahan and Robert E. Maxs on, U niversity of Sout hern California.
Larv al form s a re do minant in the life histo ry o f ma rine inve rtebra tes. In Antarctica,
energy budget calculatio ns hav e sho wn that lar val stage s o f echinoderm s ca n surviv e
witho ut foo d for sev er al months to y ea rs. This has led to spe cula tion tha t e nergy
meta bo lism is m ore e fficient in these for ms a nd tha t this enhanced e fficiency might be
unique to life in ex treme co ld.
Our re ce nt wo rk o n the bio che mica l base s o f dev elo pm ental physiolo gy in a nta rctic
marine inve rtebra tes ha s indicate d that co ntra ry to e xpectatio ns o f lo w m etabo lism and
low rate s o f ma crom ole cula r synthe sis in the co ld, em bry os and la rv ae o f an a nta rctic
se a urchi n have high r ates of pr otein synthesis a nd low ra tes of m eta bo lism. This
appa rent pa ra do x was reso lve d with our re cent finding tha t the cost of pro tein synthe sis
in this sea urchin is 1/ 25th tha t r eporte d for othe r a nimals. This is the highest e fficiency
fo r pro tein synthe sis re porte d for an anima l a nd has impo rtant impl ica tions fo r the
physio logy o f gr owth and dev elo pm ent in co ld e nv iro nm ents. We no w pro po se to
inv estigate this unique biochem ical effi cie ncy of pro tein sy nthe sis in de tail.
We hav e thr ee ma jo r obje ctive s:
z We will test the ge ne rality o f o ur re cent findings by me asuring me tabol ism a nd
pro tein synthe sis during the de ve lopment o f othe r a ntarctic echino derm species.
z We will di rectly test the hy po thesis tha t gro wth efficiencies will be high i n such
organisms by m ea suri ng the physio logy of prote in gro wth efficiencies in la rva e.
z We will see k to ex pla in the unique high efficie ncy o f pro tein synthesis in a nta rctic
se a urchi n em bry os in specific m ole cula r te rms by study ing ea ch o f the
co mpone nt pr oce sse s. We w ill supple ment the se mea sur eme nts of whole
po pula tion pro tein synthesis with me asure ments ba sed o n sel ected individual
pro teins ( histo ne s).
Unde rstanding meta bo lic efficie ncy in po la r o rganisms will he lp re solv e long- sta nding
questio ns abo ut tem pe rature co mpensatio n and a da pta tions to fo od limitatio n in po lar
regions. Our approa ch will e mpha size the ce llular and subce llular le vel s o f bio lo gica l
analy sis in order to te st the hypothesis tha t the re is a ne w bio che mistry for prote in
sy nthe sis in the se organisms. (B –006–M; NSF /OP P 01–30398)
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Patterns and processes: Dynamics of the Erebus
Bay Weddell seal population.
Rob ert A. Garrott an d J ay J. Rot ella, Mont ana Stat e Universit y–Boz eman, and
Donald S in iff, Univers it y of Min neso ta –Twin Cities.
The Erebus Ba y We ddell sea l ( Leptonycho te s w edde llii) populatio n study in ea ste rn
McMurdo Sound wa s initiate d in 1968 a nd re pr esents one of the lo nge st intensive fie ld
inv estigatio ns of a lo ng -lived mam mal in existe nce . Ove r ne ar ly 36 ye ars, a tota l o f
16,809 anima ls hav e be en tagge d, with 161,994 re sighting re cords lo gged in the
da tabase . This study is a va lua bl e reso ur ce fo r unde rstanding the po pulatio n dyna mics
no t o nly of W eddell sea ls, but a lso of o ther spe cies of bo th ter restria l and ma rine
mam mals. We ar e pursuing two line s o f inve stiga tion tha t co mbine the lo ng-te rm
da tabase with ne w fie ld initiativ es.
The continui ty of the demo graphic data wi ll be ma inta ined by a nnually m ark ing all pups
bo rn, re pla cing lost or brok en tags, and perfo rming censuses. W e will combine the se new
da ta with the e xisting databa se and perfo rm a pr ogressiv ely co mpl ex ser ies of
de mogra phic analy ses tha t wi ll a llow us to te st specific hy po the ses a bo ut populatio n
regulatio n and e va luate prev iously deter mined te mpo ra l a nd spa tial patter ns of va riatio n
in vita l r ate s a mong co lonies.
The prima ry ne w fie ld initiativ e is a n intensive study of the ma ss dyna mics o f both pups
and adult fe male s to a ssess a nnua l v aria tion in ma rine reso urces and the po tentia l ro le in
limiting or re gula ting the po pulatio n. In additio n to co llecting data o n body ma ss
dy na mics, we wi ll use sate llite ima ge ry to dev elo p an ex tende d time -se rie s o f sea ice in
McMurdo Sound. (The exte nt o f sea ice a ffects bo th re gio nal prima ry pr oductiv ity and
ava ilability o f haul -out a rea s.) Incre ase d prima ry producti vity ma y incr ea se m arine
reso urce s, which wo uld be expe cte d to hav e a positiv e effe ct o n fora ging efficie ncy ,
leading to incre ased bo dy mass. U nde rstanding the me cha nism s that limit or re gula te
Weddell sea l populatio ns a nd the spe cific linka ge s betwe en climate , o cea ns, i ce , a nd
antarctic foo d we bs can mak e importa nt co ntributions to the k nowle dge o f pinniped
po pula tion dy na mics, a s we ll a s the theo retica l unde rstanding of po pulatio ns,
co mmunities, and e co syste ms.
Such knowle dge ca n be rea dil y applie d to e nha nce the a bility o f natura l r esource
manage rs to e ffectiv ely m aintain assem bla ge s o f o the r large ma mma l specie s a nd the
ecolo gical pr ocesse s they facilita te. C ontinua tion of this long-te rm study ma y al so
co ntribute to unde rstanding the po tential impact of huma n a ctiv ities such as global
warm ing and the comm ercia l e xplo itatio n of antar ctic ma rine re sources. (B –009 –M;
NSF/ OPP 02 –25110)
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Community dynamics in a polar ecosystem:
Benthic recovery from organic enrichment in the
Antarctic.
Stac y L. Kim, M oss Landing Marin e Laboratories/S an J ose Stat e Universit y.
The Antarctic is co nsider ed o ne of the mo st pristine habitats on the planet. H uma ns
occupy o nl y a tiny po rtion of the co ntinent. Tho ugh the huma n foo tprint in Antar ctica i s
sm all and gene rally highly lo calize d, the re a re ar eas where anthr opogenic contam ina tion
is sev ere . F or ex ample , past pra ctices at McMurdo Statio n hav e re sulte d in a fe w highly
co ntamina ted m arine a rea s, such as the o ne nea r the se wage o utfall. High le ve ls o f
organic enrichment ha ve ra dica lly al te re d the loca l benthic co mmunity. The alte red
co mmunity a nd surr ounding undisturbed co mmunities hav e be en well de scribed o ve r a
10 -yea r pe rio d.
In Fe br ua ry 2003, a se wage tre atme nt plant was complete d a t McM ur do Sta tion, a nd the
organic input to the se afloo r dro ppe d ma rke dly. On the basis of ex isting i nfor matio n o n
co mmunity re co ve ry dynam ics in po lar eco system s fro m ice -mediate d disturba nce s
(iceber gs and a ncho r ice ) and in temper ate e co syste ms fro m o rga nic-loa ding, we predict
tha t re cov ery wi ll begin im media tely. H owe ve r, gro wth and r eproduction are o fte n slo w
in anta rctic species. Thus, com ple te reco ve ry ma y ex tend o ver a m uch longer perio d
tha n in te mpera te are as. In a ddition, slo w micro bia l proce sses at low pola r te mpera tures
ha ve a llowe d a la rge pile of o rga nic m ater ial to build up at the o utfa ll site , a nd so me
cha nges ma y be the r esult o f bur ial rathe r tha n or ga nic enrichme nt. Finally , the size of
the distur ba nce i s unusual; sm all orga nic inputs such a s sea l fe ces and dea d fish are
co mmo n, but la rge se wage o utfalls ar e not. Thus, the outfa ll and new tre atme nt plant
pro vide a unique o ppor tunity for a la rge -sca le ex pe rime nt o n re co ve ry.
Our ex pe rime nts will elucidate the ro les of o rganic enrichment, burial, and distur ba nce
size in be nthic com munity re cov ery dy na mics. W e will co mpare the ra tes obser ved with
tho se pre dicte d fro m a me ta -analy sis o f re co ve ry from o rganic disturbance in a v arie ty of
ha bita ts, and co ntrast the r ole o f o rga nic lo ading with burial a nd patch size . Our
inte gra ted appr oa ch will further the under standing o f anthropo ge nic impa cts in pola r
enviro nments. W e continue to co mmunica te the ex cite me nt of scie ntific rese arch to
students o f a ll a ge s, not only by invo lving graduate a nd undergra dua te students directly
in our field a nd lab rese arch, but a lso to K -12 students v ia classro om a nd co mmunity
pre sentatio ns a nd web inte ractio ns fr om the fi eld ( B –010 –M; NSF /OP P 01 –26319)
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Biogeochemistry of Victoria Land coastal ponds:
Role in terrestrial ecosystem organic carbon
dynamics and structure.
Maria Uh le, U niversity of Tennes see, an d P eter T. Doran, Universit y of Illinois–
Chicago.
Since 1993, str ucture , proce sse s, a nd functi onal linka ge s in the a nta rctic te rre str ial
ecosy stem have be en the focus o f the Lo ng -Te rm Ecolo gi ca l Rese arch site in the
McMurdo Dr y Valle ys. This e cosy ste m has a mo de rn co mponent linking o rga nic ca rbo n
dy na mics be twee n the so ils, glacier s, strea ms, a nd ice- co ve red lak es, plus a le gacy to
ancient gla ci al ev ents that deposited pa leo -organic carbon. The soil re serv oir co nta ins 72
pe rcent o f the sea sonally unfroze n a nd biolo gically a va ilable or ga ni c car bo n within Tay lor
Valle y, a nd a substa ntia l fra ction may be re calcitra nt car bo n deriv ed fro m ancient
clim atic ev ents.
One pote ntia lly la rge so urce of labile, and hence bioa va ilable, o rga nic ca rbo n tha t has
no t bee n inve stiga ted is the ma ny sma ll ponds found in m ost are as of the M cMurdo Dry
Valle ys, e spe cially nea r the co ast. These ponds hav e a re lativ ely la rge surface a re a, a nd
the y seem to ge ne rate a signifi ca nt a mount o f stra nde d micro bia l ma t a s the y shift
po sition. Their transie nt nature re nder s the o rga nic m atter v ulne rable to tra nspor t a nd
po ssi bly re prese nts a significa nt source o f mo de rn, la bile ca rbon i n the ecosy stem. A
pre liminar y estima te suggests tha t the coa stal po nd re se rv oir ma y co nstitute at lea st 11
pe rcent o f the carbo n in the McM ur do Dry Va lley s so il r eserv oir . The refo re, the se po nds
may significa ntly a ffect the ca rbon cy cle and m ust be co nside red in dev elo ping a ca rbo n
budge t for this po lar deser t.
We will de ter mine the e xte nt of the co asta l pond r eser vo ir, a sse ss how pro ductive it is,
and deter mine whether it is a so ur ce or sink within o rga nic ca rbo n dyna mics a nd the
ove ra ll structure of the te rrestria l ecosy stem. We will focus o n unde rstanding the
bio ge ochem istry of the se po nds in ter ms o f the factor s a ffecting o rga nic ca rbo n
pro ductio n and nutrie nt cycling.
We should deriv e a mo re deta iled understa nding of the li nk ages betwe en moder n
ecosy stem com po ne nts, de ve lop insights into the biogeo chemica l cy cling within pola r
de se rt eco sy stems, and, possibly, ide ntify me cha nisms tha t help sustai n life in e xtre me
enviro nments. W e will also invo lve pre do minantly African -Ameri ca n K –5 stude nts fr om
Kno xv ille, Te nne sse e, city scho ols. These stude nts will be inv olv ed in que stion -andanswer sessio ns ov er the Internet, a nd older stude nts will de sign ex pe rime nts and be
intro duce d to the scientific m ethod. Scie nce a nd ma th classe s will use da ta anal ysis to
de vel op a nalytica l sk ills a nd place them in a rele va nt contex t. ( B–011–M; NSF /OP P 02 –
30237)
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Remotely operable microenvironmental
observatory for antarctic marine biology
research.
Samuel S. Bow ser, New Y ork St ate Department of Health , and Ant hony D.
Hansen , Magee Scient ific Comp an y.
Resea rch div ing ove r the pa st two deca de s ha s y ielded im po rta nt insights into the
ecolo gical importa nce o f giant (la rge r tha n 1 mill imete r) fo ra minife ra in McMurdo Sound.
Unfo rtuna tely , the in situ behav ior o f these single -ce lled orga nisms and the ir intera ctions
within the fo od w eb ca n be observ ed only in " sna psho ts" during sum mer dive s, when
algal pr oductio n is at a ma xim um unde r 24-ho ur light. Much wo uld be lea rned by
observ ing fo ra minife ra ov er e xtended pe riods, to study mobility , respo nse to foo d
ava ilability , a nd other directe d behav iors. It wo uld be va lua ble to be able to e xtend
observ atio ns to the winter mo nths i n or de r to study these o rga nisms in the da rk, with no
algal pr oductio n, a nd to e xperim entally m anipula te in situ co nditions and o bse rve the
be ha vio ral re spo nse .
Resea rch div ing requires costly suppo rt a nd cannot pr ovi de e xtended o bserv atio n of
individual or ga nism s. Mo reo ve r, the lo gistica l r equir eme nts, costs, co mple xitie s, a nd
risks of winte r diving a t r emo te loca tions i n Antarctica a re prohibitive . H owe ve r, human
div ing is not re quire d to ma ke lo ng- te rm in situ o bse rva tions. Technolo gy a nd
co mmunicatio ns hav e adva nce d to the point whe re it is fea sible and practica l to insta ll
video ma cro - and micr ovi ew came ras in a submer sible e nclo sure; they ca n tra nsm it both
live a nd se que ntia l time - lapse image s o ver the Interne t to a r emo te user througho ut the
yea r. Such a n instrumenta tion pla tfo rm could then be used fo r expe rime nta l
manipula tion of the e nv iro nm ent.
We intend to dev elo p a subm ersible, rem ote ly opera ble underw ater o bse rva tory fo r the
study of fo ram inife ra and a ssocia te d benthic fauna. This o bse rv ator y would be co nnecte d
to a sho rel ine unit by fibe ro ptic cable and link ed by ra dio to the I nte rnet fo r yea r -round
access. The de sign and o pe ra ti on o f this o bse rv ato ry will function a s a te chnol ogy
te mplate to m ee t o the r yea r -round anta rctic re sea rch re quire me nts by m ea ns of
te lescie nce r ather than pe rsonnel deploy me nt. (B–015–M; NSF /OP P 02 –16043)
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Cultural emergence and health in Antarctica.
Timot hy D. Dye an d N ancy Ch in, Univers ity of Roch est er.
The em ergence o f a long -te rm populatio n in space wil l, in m any wa ys, pa ralle l the
eme rge nce of a sustaine d popul atio n in Antar ctica , wher e de ve lopme nt has expa nded
be yo nd the initia l populatio n o f scientifi c a nd militar y pe rsonnel and no w include s suppo rt
sta ff and co nstruction pe rso nnel. Experts spe cula te tha t a simila r mix o f reside nts may
eme rge as spa ce po pula tions dev elo p. Such o rganizatio na l and cultur al mer ging in
restricted envir onme nts undo ubte dly cre ate s new cultur al landsca pes (ethnosca pe s) tha t
co uld influe nce he alth a nd hea lth behav ior. Beca use o f the ex trem e e nv ironme nt, hea lth
risks and hea lth car e are pa rticula rly impo rtant. The study of cultura l e mer ge nce in
Anta rctica as an a na log to spa ce could pro ve useful in the dev elo pm ent o f m odels of
he alth a nd hea lth behav ior in a n iso late d confined e nv iro nm ent ( ICE) a nd could help
pla nne rs bette r str ucture these e nv ironme nts to re duce hea lth risk s a nd ide ntify facto rs
tha t pre dispose peo ple to those ri sk s.
We aim to :
z model the em ergence of cultura l sta ge s in ICE e thno scapes as e xperie nce d by
bo th short - and lo ng- te rm populatio ns;
z ide ntify those e leme nts o f ICE e thno scapes tha t a re specific to a n indi vidua l
se aso n a nd tho se tha t a re re pe ate d;
z rela te ho w the te mpora l and conte nt stages of ICE e thno sca pes intera ct w ith risk,
be ha vio r, a nd injury; a nd
z de monstra te the utility o f ele ctronic and distance -ba sed a ssiste d ethnogra phy in
the co nduct o f socia l resea rch in ICE e nv ironme nts o f Antarctica a nd, po ssibly , in
spa ce .
We will be gin with k ey inform ant i nte rvie ws a nd fo cus groups co nducte d thro ughout the
United S ta tes with peo ple who ha ve spent at le ast one sea son o n the ice in the past 3
yea rs. The purpose is to e lucidate the behav ior s, risks, and hea lth e vents tha t r esidents
fa ce, par ticula rly in the e merge nce o f ethnosca pe s. The ne xt phase has us re siding in
Anta rctica fo r an exte nde d perio d a nd co nducting participa nt obser vatio n a nd inte rv iews
at tw o differe nt sites. This phase will incl ude the Self- Disclo sure Te chnique ( SDT) , an
anthr opolo gica l metho d fo r ide ntify ing the co nce ptua l structure of a cultur al ev ent. SDT
will be used to de scr ibe cultural dynam ics in o ccupatio nal, r ecre atio na l, spiritual, and
other group a ctivitie s. Fie ldwork w ill inv olv e bo th short - and lo ng- te rm re si de nce . The
da ta will be pr ocesse d, and mo dels will be te ste d for v alidity with inform ants o n the ice.
This r esea rch co uld contribute to the dev elo pm ent o f scre ening proce dure s fo r lo ng-te rm
residence in IC Es and co nte xt -se nsitiv e e xplanato ry mo dels of culture and injur y risk, as
well as illustr ate the utility of distance - ba sed e thno gra phy . (B –027–M; NSF /OP P 01–
25893)
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Genomic networks for cold-adaptation in
embryos of polar marine invertebrates.
Ad am G. Marsh , Univers it y of Delaware.
Altho ugh the co ld o ce an eco systems com pr ise 72 pe rcent of Ea rth's biosphere by
volume , they r ema in sparse ly inha bi te d a nd rela tive ly unexplo ited, particula rly the
meta zoa n phy la. Consequently, the few a nim als tha t ca n e xist a t this bo rder o f
intra cellula r fre ezing a re idea l fo r e xplor ing ge nomic -leve l pro cesses o f envir onme nta l
adaptatio n. Understa nding life at the mar gin will co nvey signifi ca nt insights into the
pro cesses esse ntia l fo r surv iva l unde r inte nse sel ection pr essures.
Our study o f ada ptiv e mechanisms in geno mic ne twork s fo cuses o n a syste m tha t face s a
fo rmidable challe nge a t co ld tem pe rature s: e mbr yo nic deve lopme nt o f two a nta rctic
echino derms, the se asta r Odo nta ster va lidus a nd the se a urchin Stere chinus neuma ye ri,
at se a wa ter tempe rature s o f -1.8°C. We will quantify te mpe ra ture e ffe cts on ge ne
expre ssio n a nd pr ote in turnov er ne two rks during ea rly deve lopme nt by using a Bay esian
ne twork a naly sis (a me tho d o f statistica l a nalysis) to ide ntify cluste rs of gene s a nd
pro teins who se lev els of expre ssi on a re a sso ciate d in fix ed, syne rgistic intera ctions.
Ultima tely , the questio n to be a ddresse d is whether it is mo re o r l ess difficult (com ple x)
fo r a n e mbryo to dev elo p in a n e xtre me env ironme nt. To a nswer this question, w e will
de ci pher netwo rk to po logie s a nd subnet str ucturing to unco ve r ge ne co nnectiv ity
pa tterns a ssocia ted with embry onic de vel opment in this pola r enviro nment. W e also
inte nd to inte re st stude nts in the dev elo ping fiel d of enviro nmenta l geno mics by
incre asing the a ware ness o f ca ree r o ppo rtunitie s w ithin the fiel d and incre asing the ra cia l
div ersity o f those a ttr acted to it.
Wor king in a remo te, ex treme e nviro nment such a s A nta rctica is a lway s a challe nge , but
the a dv enturous na tur e of the wo rk can be used to establish e duca tio nal and o utrea ch
co mpone nts of high intere st to bo th under gr adua te stude nts and the public. W e will bring
the e xperie nce of wo rk ing in Antarctica to a larger a udie nce by
z inco rpora ting envir onme nta l geno mics into a ne w bio infor matics curriculum be ing
de vel oped a t the U niv ersity o f Dela wa re,
z impl eme nting a n inter n progra m to inv olv e minor ity unde rgraduates in summe r
resea rch in the United S ta tes and then to bring them to Antar ctica to pa rticipa te
in re se ar ch, a nd
z cr ea ting a K–12 educa tion pr ogram that will bring the e xcitem ent o f wo rking in
Anta rctica to the classro oms of tho usa nds o f childre n ( in the United State s a nd
aro und the wo rld) thr ough a progra m pr oduce d in co njuncti on wi th the Mar ine
Sci ence Public Educa tion Office at the U niver sity of De lawa re. (B –029 –M;
NSF/ OPP 02–38281)
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Geographic structure of Adélie penguin
populations: Demography of population
expansion.
David G. Ainley, H .T. Harvey and Ass ociates; Nad av Nu r and Grant Ballard, Po int
Reyes Bird Obs ervat ory; and Katie Du gger, Oregon S tate Univers it y.
We ar e inv estigating the me cha nisms re spo nsible fo r the geo gr aphi c structur ing, the
fo unding of ne w co lonie s, and the re cent populatio n e xpansion of the Adélie pe nguins
( Pygo sce lis a de liae ) of Ro ss a nd Bea ufo rt Islands. Simila r expa nsio n has bee n o ccurring
thro ugho ut the Ross Sea , wher e 30 pe rcent of the wo rld's populatio n o f this specie s
resides, a nd is in som e way re late d to a melio ra ti ng cli mate . Thus fa r w e ha ve bee n
exa mining:
z the re lativ e impor ta nce of r eso urce s that constra in colo ny grow th (the a mount o f
ne sting ha bita t v ersus access to foo d) ;
z aspects o f natura l histor y tha t m ight be a ffe cte d by e xploita tive o r inte rfe re nce
co mpetitio n a mong ne ighboring co lonies (bre eding succe ss and fo raging effort) ;
z clim atic fa ctors that influence the latte r, especia lly ex tent a nd concentratio n o f
se a ice; a nd
z be ha vio ral me cha nisms tha t infl ue nce co lony gro wth as a functio n of initi al size
and lo ca tion, emigra tion, a nd imm igr atio n.
Only the Bea ufo rt Island co lony is ne sti ng spa ce limited, a nd we hav e sho wn ho w the
exte nt a nd co ncentratio n o f sea ice a ffe ct diet, fora ging effo rt, a nd winter surviv al. I n
additio n, the large co lony a t Ca pe Cro zie r affe cts the fora gi ng pa tterns o f penguins at the
sm alle r o nes, a ll within ra nge, and, perhaps, ultima tely their size. The rate a nd dir ection
of e migratio n a lso appea r to be co nstra ined by sea -ice co nditio ns, with re aso nable
co ncentratio ns o f ice fav oring the gro wth of smalle r colo nie s w he re fora ging co mpetitio n
is minima l. The arr ival o f the large icebe rgs, B –15A and C –16, follo wing the 2000 se aso n
ha s pro vided a n unusua l o ppo rtunity , a natura l e xperi ment, to inv estigate the fa ctors
encouraging e migratio n a nd/o r its a bse nce ( philo pa try) .
We will use eight coho rts o f ma rke d penguins fro m ea ch colo ny to a sse ss juvenile
surv iva l, re crui tm ent a ge, a nd age - specific fecundity a nd subsequent surv iva l. The se
da ta will be co mpare d with a no ther de mo gr aphic study , the only o ne for this specie s,
co nducted a t Ca pe Cro zie r during the 1960s and 1970s, whe n popul atio ns wer e
de cl ining.
Info rmatio n wil l be re lated to sea ice a s quantifi ed by sate llite ima ges. Glo ba l clim ate is
cha nging the fa stest in the po lar re gions. The Adélie pe nguin is tied to sea ice, a prima ry
fa cto r in ra pid pola r climate change (le ss se a ice, le ss re flection of so la r e ne rgy). The
extre me se nsitiv ity of the se pe nguins to clima te cha nge has often be en no ted.
Unde rstanding the de mogra phic mechanisms behind this se nsitiv ity will co ntribute
gre atly to k nowle dge o f the e ffects of clim ate change on antarctic ma rine organisms.
(Additio nal inform atio n can be found o n o ur W eb site : www.pe nguinscie nce .co m .) ( B–
031 –M; NSF /OP P 01 –25608)
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Occupation history and diet of Adélie penguins in
the Ross Sea region, Antarctica.
Steven D. Ems lie, Univers it y of No rt h Carolin a–Wilmin gto n.
We will build on pre vio us studie s to inve stiga te the occupa tion history a nd diet of A délie
pe nguins ( Pygo sce lis a delia e ) with e xcav atio ns o f the many a ba ndo ne d a nd active
pe nguin co lonies in the Ro ss Se a re gio n: spe cifical ly, the Victo ria La nd co ast from Ca pe
Ada re to Ma rble Po int. So me of the se sites ha ve bee n ra dio car bo n- da ted a nd indica te
tha t Ad élie pe nguins hav e occupied them for 13,000 y ea rs. The m ater ial we will re co ve r,
as de monstra ted from pre vio us inve stiga ti ons, will include penguin bo nes, tissue, a nd
eggshell fragme nts, as well as abunda nt rem ains of pre y (fish bones, oto liths, squid
be ak s) pre serv ed in ornithoge nic soils ( fo rme d fr om bird guano) . The se or ga nic re mains
will be qua ntifie d a nd subje cted to radioca rbon analy ses to obtain a colo ni za tion history
of the penguins i n this re gio n. Identificatio n of pr ey re ma ins in the sedime nt will allo w us
to assess pe nguin diet.
We will colla bo ra te with N ew Zea land scie ntists to ana lyze o the r data fro m the se site s
(ancient DNA) a nd will inte rpret pa st clim atic co nditions fr om published ice - co re a nd
marine - se di ment reco rds. The se data will be use d to test the hy po thesis tha t Ad élie
pe nguins re spo nd pr edictably to clima te cha nge , past and prese nt. In a ddition, we will
te st the hypothe sis that the se pe nguins a lter their diet in a cco rdance with clim ate , sea ice co nditio ns, and o ther ma rine envi ronme nta l var iables alo ng a latitudinal gr adient.
Gra dua te and unde rgraduate stude nts will be inv olv ed, a nd a We b site will be de ve loped
to repor t re sults and m aintain educa tiona l intera ction be twee n project perso nne l a nd
students a t lo cal middle a nd high schoo ls in Wilm ingto n, No rth Ca ro lina . ( B–034–M;
NSF/ OPP 01–25098)
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Cold body temperature as an evolutionary
shaping force in the physiology of antarctic
fishes.
Bruc e D. Sid ell, Univers it y of Maine.
No tothenio id fishe s that do minate the fish fauna sur rounding Antar ctica ha ve bee n
evo lving fo r 10 to 14 millio n ye ar s a t a nea rly co nsta nt body tempe rature o f ro ughly 0°C.
Many unusual phy siolo gi ca l chara cteristics of the se fishes are adaptatio ns to life at cold
bo dy te mpe ra ture s o r physio lo gica l o r bio che mica l fea tur es tha t a re perm itted by life at
co ld body te mpe ra ture s but that wo uld be dele terio us in other env ironme nts.
We hav e thr ee ma in o bjectiv es:
z to ide ntify in antarctic fishes the ami no a cid substitutions in the fatty a cid–binding
po cket o f fa tty acy l co enzyme A syntheta se (FAC S) tha t e xpla in its substrate
specificity. Fa tty a cids are a major so ur ce of e ne rgy me ta bolism in a ntarctic
fishes, a nd FACS cata lyze s this m etabo lism.
z to pro duce a r igo ro us bio chemica l a nd biophysical chara cteriza tion of the
intra cellula r ca lcium - binding pro tein, parv albumin, from the white ax ial
muscula ture o f a nta rctic fishes. P arv albumin play s a piv ota l ro le in fa ci litating the
rela xa tion phase of fa st- co ntracting muscles and is a lik ely site o f strong sel ective
pre ssure . P relim inary data indicate stro ngly that the prote in fro m antarctic fishes
ha s bee n mo difie d to functio n at co ld tem pe rature s.
z to co nduct a br oa d sur vey of the patte rn o f cardia c my oglo bin e xpressio n in the
suborde r N o to thenioide i. Pr evi ous wo rk has indica ted a va riable patte rn o f
pre sence or a bse nce o f my oglo bin ( Mb) , a n intrace llular ox ygen -binding pro tein,
in the he arts of Cha nnichthyidae ( ice fish) . Beca use Mb has phy siolo gica l v alue in
specie s tha t e xpress it, this par t o f the pro ject w ill surve y fo r the pre sence of
ca rdiac Mb in as many noto thenioid species as possible.
We will pe rform a co mbinatio n of shipboa rd co llectio n and la bo ra to ry e xperim entatio n
(cloning a nd site -dire cted m uta ge nesis of FA CS). Full- length cDN A clones fo r antar ctic
fish pa rva lbumin(s) will be obtaine d, pe rmitting the de ductio n o f pr imar y amino a cid
se que nce . The se da ta will yie ld insight into str uctura l e leme nts that pe rmit the pr otei n
fro m no tothe nio id fishe s to functio n a t v ery co ld body temper atures.
Both m odified a nd wild- ty pe FACS will be pro duce d usi ng a cultur ed e xpre ssio n sy ste m,
and the pr otei n products will be iso late d and subje ct to e nzy me kine tic a na lyse s. The se
exper iments ma y permi t us to de te rmine the spe cifi c a mino acid substitutio ns that
expla in both substrate specificity and the prese rva tion of ca ta lytic ra te of no tothenioi d
FACS at cold temper atures. (B –036–L; N SF/OP P 01–25890)
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Investigations on deterioration in the historic
huts of Antarctica.
Rob ert A. Blanch ette, University of Min nesot a.
During the first two de ca des of the 20th century, Euro pe ans mo unte d a handful of
expeditio ns in ho pe s o f re aching (a nd claiming) the geogra phic South P ole . Ba se camps
established in the M cMurdo So und r egion by Sco tt a t H ut P oint and Ca pe Ev ans a nd by
Sha ckle ton a t Ca pe Roy ds wer e abandoned once the ex pe ditio ns we re ov er, lea ving
be hind tho usa nds of a rtifacts, a s we ll a s the huts the ex plo re rs built for shelte r a nd
sto ra ge . Ove r the inter vening 90 y ea rs, the e xtre mes of the pol ar envir onme nt hav e
actually pro te cted so me o f the ar ti fa cts from ra pid decay , but conse rva tors ha ve r ecently
be co me co nce rned a bout the ser ious de gra datio n of what is a n impo rtant histo rical,
archae olo gi ca l si te .
Some o f the grav est thre ats ar e as fo llows:
z Woo d in contact with the gr ound is be ing de stroy ed by a fungus. Also, va rious
molds and cellulo se -de gra ding fungi a re a tta cking a rtifacts m ade of lea the r,
te xtile s, a nd other or ga nic ma teria ls.
z Ex terio r woo d is be ing de graded by no nbiol ogical pr ocesse s a s we ll, including sa lt,
ultra vio let ra dia tion, a nd wind e rosio n.
z Che mica l dam age within the huts is a ppa rent, a nd the so ils o n the site are
co ntamina ted with aro ma tic hydro carbons fro m petro leum products.
We plan to ide ntify the bi olo gica l a nd nonbiolo gica l a gents re spo nsible for the
de terio ratio n, study the me cha nism s a nd progre ssive sequence of the e ve nts tak ing
pla ce, te st me thods to be used to co ntrol future dete rio ratio n, de term ine the e xte nt of
enviro nmental polluta nts in so ils a t the historic sites, a nd e val ua te che mical spills wi thin
the huts. The goa l is to pro vide the scientific data co nserv ato rs nee d to help pr otect
the se importa nt sites for future gener atio ns. But the pr oject sho ul d also shed light o n
the se unique de terio ratio n pro cesses, a s w ell as augment scientific unde rstanding of the
bio logy o f antar ctic micro or ga ni sm s a nd the bio div ersity o f micro bes pre sent i n this
unusua l e nv ironme nt. (B –038 –E; N SF/ OP P 02–29570)
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Foraging behavior and demography of Pygoscelis
penguins.
Wayne Z. Trivelpiec e, Nat ion al Oc ean ic an d At mo sph eric Adminis tration,
Sout hwes t Fish eries Sc ienc e C enter.
Sea bird rese arch co nducted at Adm iralty B ay, King Geo rge Island, in the Anta rctic
Peninsula regio n has do cum ented annua l v aria bility in the life history pa rame ters o f the
po pula tion bio logy of thr ee re late d penguin spe cie s: the Adé lie, the gentoo , a nd the
chinstrap ( Pygo sce lis a delia e, P. papua , and P. a nta rctica, respectiv ely ). This lo ng-te rm
study ha s co llecte d mo re than 25 ye ars of da ta on the se thr ee re late d spe cies, including
surv iva l a nd recr uitm ent, populatio n size and bre eding succe ss, and diets and for aging
ecolo gy.
We will ex tend the rese arch linking penguin de mogra phy a nd fora ging eco logy to
var iability in the a nta rctic m arine eco system . A ma jo r fo cus will be on the populatio n
bio logy data for the Adé lie a nd ge nto o penguins and the distri bution and tro phic
inte ractio ns a mong the three specie s during the br eeding se ason and the nonbree di ng,
winte r pe riod. R ecent studies using sa tellite ta gs a nd time -de pth reco rde rs to ex amine
po stfle dging fora gi ng ha ve pro vided the fi rst deta iled da ta on the winte ring di str ibutions
of Ad élie and chinstr ap pengui ns in the Antarctic Pe ninsula.
Spe cific topics include an e xa minatio n o f the size and sex o f k rill ca pture d by pe nguins
fe eding chick s a nd krill col lected co ncurre ntly by net hauls in the adja cent m arine
enviro nment and the le ngth- fre que ncy distributio n o f kr ill co llecte d from penguin die t
sa mples. The winter surviv al of bre eding a dults a nd the recruitme nt o f yo ung (2- to 4yea r -old) pr ebree ding pe nguins to their nata l co lony will be co mpare d with the e xte nt of
se a ice in the winter befor e the bre eding sea son. The se va riable s a re ex pe cted to be
po sitivel y co rre late d for the Adé lie but ne ga tive ly corr ela ted for the chi nstra p penguin.
De taile d studie s o f adult ge nto o penguins, which do not dispe rse widely from their nata l
co lo ny , will be co nducte d using sate llite tags.
The data we gathe r o n the impact of enviro nmenta l v aria tion on the structure o f uppe rtr ophic- leve l pre da tor s such as the Pygo sce lis penguins will i mpr ov e our understa nding o f
the structur e and functio n o f the Anta rctic. (B –040–E; N SF/ OP P 01–25985)
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Interannual variability in the Antarctic–Ross Sea
(IVARS): Nutrients and seasonal production.
Walker O. S mith , Virginia In stitu te of Marine Sc ien ces.
During the past fe w deca de s, o ceano gr aphe rs and o the r scie nti sts hav e fo und significant
var iatio ns in So uthe rn Ocea n bio ge ochemi ca l proce sses fro m ye ar to ye ar . So me of the
more significa nt o f these intera nnua l v aria tions are the e xtent and co nce ntra tion of the
ice , the com po sition of her biv or e co mm unities, and the distr ibutio n and re pr oductiv e
success of birds and ma rine ma mma ls.
Ev en tho ugh phyto pla nkton pr oductio n is central to the foo d we b, surprisingly little is
known about ho w it v arie s fro m yea r to ye ar o r w ha t r ole these v aria tions may pla y. The
pro ductio n syste m i n the Ro ss Se a consists pre do minantly o f two ma jo r functional
gro ups: diato ms and Phae ocystis anta rctica , a colo nial haptophyte. In this pro je ct, we
will co llect time - se rie s data a nd assess the intera nnua l v aria tions of phyto pla nkto n in the
so uthe rn Ro ss Se a.
The Ro ss Se a pr ovi de s a unique se tting fo r such a n inve stiga tion. W e ca n build o n a de
fa cto , a lrea dy ongoing time -se rie s beca use so ma ny studies have be en co nducted the re
in the pa st deca de . Also , it has been esta blished tha t ther e are few er spe cies the re
(re lative to so me othe r site s) and that sea so nal producti on is as grea t a s a ny where in the
Anta rctic. Mo st im po rtant, se aso na l pro ductio n o f the tota l phyto pla nkton com munity ( as
well as its two functio nal groups) can be e stimate d from la te sum mer nutrient pro fi les.
Inte rannual va riatio ns in se aso na l pro ductio n ( and o f the tw o ma jo r tax a of pro duce rs)
may be an impor ta nt facto r in the gro wth a nd surv iva l o f highe r trophic le ve ls within the
Ross Sea foo d we b. The y also she d light on the na tur al va riability o f the suite o f
bio ge ochem ical pr ocesse s in the r egion. H av ing a scientific handle o n that ba seline o f
cha nge is importa nt because o f efforts to mo de l how clima te ma y cha nge in the futur e.
As clima te cha nge s, so cer tainly will bi olo gy be profo undly affe cted, a nd to mo de l a nd
eva luate such change we ne ed to pla ce it in the co ntex t o f natural intera nnua l v aria bility.
(B –047–M; NSF /OP P 00–87401)
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Long-term data collection at select Antarctic
Peninsula visitor sites.
Ron N aveen , Oc eanites, Inc.
The Antarctic Site Inve nto ry P roject ha s co llecte d biolo gica l data a nd site- de scr iptiv e
infor matio n in the Anta rctic P eninsula since 1994. This re se ar ch has pro vided da ta on
site s v isited by to ur ists on shipboa rd e xpeditions in the regio n. Our a im is to o bta in data
on the populatio n o f sev era l k ey specie s o f anta rctic sea birds that might be affe cted by
the cumulativ e impact of visits to the sites. We will fo cus o n two hea vily v isited A nta rctic
Peninsula sites: Pa ulet Island, in the nor thwe stern Weddell Sea , a nd P eter mann I sl and,
in the Lema ire Cha nne l nea r Anver s Isla nd. W e sel ected the se si te s be ca use bo th ra nk
amo ng the 10 most visite d sites in Anta rctica ea ch ye ar in te rms of number s o f visito rs
and zo dia c la ndings, bo th a re dive rse in specie s com po sition, a nd both a re sensitive to
po tential env ironme nta l disruptions fro m v isi to rs.
We will colle ct data o ve r 5 ye ar s o n two impo rtant bio logical para me ters fo r pe nguins
and blue -eye d shags:
z
bre eding popul atio n size (number of occupie d nests) a nd
z bre eding succe ss ( number o f chicks pe r o ccupie d nest).
Our ma in focus wil l be Pe term ann Isla nd, which we sele cted for intensive study be cause
of its visito r sta tus and l ocatio n nea r P alme r Statio n. This will allo w us to compa re da ta
with the Pa lmer Lo ng- Te rm Eco logical Re sea rch Pr ogra m.
We will colle ct dem ographic da ta in acco rdance with the standard me tho ds e sta blishe d
by the Co nv entio n fo r the Conser vatio n o f Antar ctic Ma rine Living R esource s Ecosy stem
Monito ring Pro gram , and the info rma tion we ga ther will thus be co mpara bl e to similar
da ta sets being com pile d by the rese arch pro grams o f other Antar ctic Trea ty natio ns.
While separa ting hum an -induced change fr om change re sulting fro m a combinatio n o f
enviro nmental facto rs will be difficult, this wo rk will prov ide a fir st step towa rd identifying
po tential impacts. The long -te rm data sets we co mpi le will co ntribute to a better
understa nding o f bio lo gica l pro cesses in the e ntire region and will a lso contribute
valua ble infor matio n to be used by Antar ctic Trea ty na tions as the y address
enviro nmental stew ardship issue s in Anta rctica. (B –086–P; N SF/OP P 02–30069)
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Distribution and ecology of ammonia-oxidizing
bacteria in the Palmer Long-Term Ecological
Research study area.
James T . Hollibaug h, Un iversity of Georgia.
We propo se to inv estigate the distr ibutio n, phyl ogenetic a ffinities, a nd aspects of the
ecolo gy of a mmo nium -oxidizing bacte ria in the P alme r Long-Te rm Eco logical Re sea rch
(LTER ) study a rea . Amm onia o xidatio n is the first step in the co nver si on o f re ge nera ted
nitro gen to dinitro ge n gas via denitrificatio n, a three -ste p pathway m ediate d by thr ee
distinct guilds of ba cteria . Although im po rtant to the glo ba l nitro gen cy cle, a mmo nia
oxida tion a nd the o ve rall pro ce ss o f nitrificatio n- de nitri fica tion ha ve re ceiv ed little
attentio n in pol ar oce ans w he re they a re significant a nd whe re the effects o f clima te
cha nge o n biogeo che mica l ra tes are lik ely to be prono unced.
Our goa ls a re to:
z obtain more co nclusiv e info rma tion on the co mpo sition of a nta rctic a mmo nia
oxidize rs,
z be gin cha racte rizing their eco phy sio lo gy a nd eco logy, a nd
z obtain cultures o f the o rganism for mo re detail ed studi es.
We will cha ra cte rize wa ter column and se a ice assem bla ge s o f a mmo nia -oxidizing
ba cte ria phylo ge ne tically a nd qua ntify diffe rent k inds i n va rio us sample s. We will a lso
mea sure nitri fica ti on r ates a cross the L TER study ar ea in wate r co lumn, sea ice , and
se di ment sa mple s, dete rmining grazing ra tes and e va lua ting the se nsitivity o f these
ba cte ria to ultra vio let light. In a ddition, w e will assess the significa nce o f urea nitro gen
as a source of reduced nitro ge n to these bacte ria. Finally , we will e val ua te the r esponse
of nitrificatio n o ver te mpe ra ture ranges appr opriate to the pola r re gio ns.
Our wo rk will pro vide insights into the e colo gy o f a mmo nia -oxidizing bacte ria and the
knowle dge nee de d to mo del how wa ter -co lumn nitrificatio n will re spo nd to cha nge s in
the pola r e co syste ms a ccompa ny ing glo bal clima te cha nge. (B –114–L; NSF /OPP 02–
34249)
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Microbial diversity and function in the
permanently ice-covered lakes of the McMurdo
Dry Valleys, Antarctica.
John C. Pris cu, Mont ana S tat e University –Boz eman; Brian D. Lanoil, University
of C alifornia-Rivers id e; Michael T . Madigan, Sou th ern Illinois Univers it yCarbondale; and Steven J. Giovann oni, Oregon S tate Univers it y.
We plan to study pr ok ary otic orga nism s in the perm anently ice - co ve red lak es of the
McMurdo Dr y Valle ys in o rder to identify a nd cha racte rize nov el orga nisms and e lucida te
tho se aspects o f their genom e and m etabo lism tha t a re critical to unde rstanding the ir
role in bio geo che mical cycle s. We wi ll use mo lecular to ols in co nce rt wi th conve nti onal
and high -thro ughput culturing te chniques to define repre sentativ e pr oka ry otic gro ups
responsible fo r the co nte mpora ry geo che mical gradie nts ex isting i n these lak es.
The McMurdo Dry Va lley s form the driest and co lde st e cosy ste m on Ear th and, until
rela tive ly rece ntly , hav e be en tho ught to ha rbor little life. A prim ary r easo n for
establishing a micro bia l o bse rva tory fo r the se l ake s is to unde rstand not only ho w the
enviro nment co ntrols the div ersity o f o rga nisms, but a lso ho w dive rsity itself co ntrols the
way e co syste ms functio n. The M cM urdo Dry Va lley la ke sy ste ms lend them se lve s to
answering this questio n in a unique way . Give n their isola tion, the la ck of higher life
fo rms, a nd the ir ev olutiona ry history , these la kes o ffer a unique e xperim ental ar ena to
se ar ch fo r no ve l microo rganisms and to study the interplay o f mi cr obial dive rsity and
ecosy stem function.
The re sults we de riv e will be significa nt to the gr owing body o f lite rature in bio di ver si ty ,
bio techno lo gy , geo bio logy, po la r e co lo gy , and a stro bio logy. We will wo rk with e xisting
and new progra ms to archive the phylo ge ne tic a nd phy siolo gica l da ta we co llect so tha t
anyo ne w ho is intere sted ca n a cce ss it ea sily ov er the Internet. Stro ng link ages will be
made with the highly v isible e ducatio n, outre ach, a nd huma n dive rsity progra ms
suppo rte d by the N atio na l Science Fo undatio n's Office o f Po lar P rogra ms and the
McMurdo Long -Te rm Eco logical Re sea rch Pr ogra m to y ield a pr oject that will ha ve a
bro ad impact on so ciety . (B –195–M; NSF /OP P 02–37335, NSF /MCB 02 –37576, NSF /MCB
02 –37434, and N SF/M CB 02–37689)
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Diving physiology and behavior of emperor
penguins.
Paul J . Pon ganis, S crip ps Ins titut ion of Oc eanograph y, Universit y of C alifornia San Dieg o.
The em pe ror penguin, Apte no dytes fo rster i , is the prem ier a via n diver a nd a top pre dato r
in the antarctic eco system . The ro utine o ccur rence of 500-mete r div es during fora ging
tr ips is a physiolo gical and beha vior al enigma. We will a tte mpt to de termine how a nd
why e mpero r pe nguins dive a s dee ply and lo ng as the y do by e xam ining fo ur m ajor
to pics: pre ssure to ler ance, mana ge ment of o xyge n store s, e nd-organ tole rance o f di ving
hy po xe mia/ ische mia , and dee p-div e fo ra ging beha vio r. The se subjects a re re lev ant to
the ro le o f the emper or as a to p pr edato r in the antarctic eco system a nd to critica l
co ncepts in div ing physio logy , including deco mpr ession sickne ss, nitr ogen na rcosis,
sha llow wa te r bla cko ut, hypox emic to lera nce , a nd ex te nsion o f a ero bic dive tim e.
We will test the fo llowing hypo the ses:
z Pre ventio n o f nitrogen na rco sis and de co mpre ssio n sick ne ss in e mpe ro r pe nguins
is due to inhibition of pulmo na ry gas ex cha nge a t depth.
z Sha llow wa ter blacko ut doe s no t o ccur beca use o f grea ter cer ebral hypox em ic
to ler ance and, in de ep dive s, beca use o f re sum ptio n o f pulm onar y ga s e xchange
during the fi na l a sce nt.
z The ra te of deple tion o f bloo d o xy ge n stor es is a functio n o f the depth of the div e
and the he ar t ra te.
z The ae ro bic div e limit re fle cts the onset of lacta te a ccumula tion i n loco mo tory
muscle , not tota l de ple tion of a ll o xyge n store s.
z Ele va tion o f tissue antio xidant ca pa city and fre e -radical scav enging enzyme
activitie s pro tect a gainst the ischemia a nd re pe rfusio n that ro utine ly occur during
div ing.
z During dee p dive s, the antarctic silve rfish, Pleuo ragra mma a nta rcticum , is the
prim ary pre y.
In addition to ev aluating these hy po the ses, w e will co ope rate with U.S. a nd fo rei gn
organiza ti ons such a s the Na tiona l Institute o f Po lar Re sea rch in Japa n, Centro de
Inv estigacio ne s del N oro este in Mex ico, N a ti onal Geo gr aphic, Unive rsity of Te xa s
Southwester n Me dica l Center , and Se a Wo rld. Our work w ill be fea ture d in Na tional
Ge ogra phic te lev ision do cum entar ies tha t will prov ide unique e ducatio nal opportunities
fo r the gener al public.
De ve lopment of sta te -of -the - art techno lo gy ( e.g., blo od ox ygen e lectro de r ecor de rs,
blo od sa mpler s, and mi nia tur ized digital ca mera s) will lay the groundw ork for future
resea rch. Mo re ov er, during our pl anne d fieldwo rk at sev era l R oss Sea co lonies, we will
co ntinue to e va lua te the effe cts o f the B –15 iceberg on the bree ding success o f e mpero r
pe nguins by tak ing po pula tion ce nsuse s. (B –197–M; N SF/OP P 02–29638)
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Monitoring the human impact and environmental
variability on Adélie penguins at Palmer Station,
Antarctica.
William R. Fras er, Polar Oc eans Research Group.
The potentia l co nse que nce s o f anta rctic to ur ism o n Ad élie penguins (Pygo sce lis a delia e )
ha ve bee n debate d for mo re than 20 y ea rs. H owe ve r, the ra pid pro lifera tion of these
activitie s since 1970, pa rticula rly o n the Antarctic Pe ninsula, ha s no t o nly fo rced a n
exte nsio n o f these questions to wildlife po pulatio ns in ge ne ra l, but a lso colo red the m with
a sense of urgency a nd co ntrov ersy that has pola rized o pinio ns. The k ey co nce rn is tha t
co ntinue d incr ea se s in the se activitie s wi ll e ve ntuall y ov erco me the ability of rese arch to
addre ss critica l i ssues in a tim ely a nd bio lo gica lly me aningful ma nne r. This is a va lid
co ncern, since studie s to e xa mine huma n impa cts hav e either not been impleme nted a t
cr itical sites or ar e limi te d in sco pe be cause of logistic a nd ex pe rime nta l co nstra ints.
Unde rstanding ho w tourism might a ffect Adé lie pe nguins re sts fundam entally o n the
ne ed to quantify and unde rstand the natura l v aria bili ty manifested by bre eding
po pula tions o ve r spa tial and te mpo ra l sca les. H ow eve r, a lthough it is genera lly
reco gnized tha t without the se da ta it will be difficult to cr itically a sse ss a ny lo calize d
cha nges from to ur ism , this e cosyste m appr oa ch is e xpensive a nd complex a nd is no t
likel y to be justi fie d by the ne ed to unde rstand to ur ist impa cts.
We will continue a tourist m onito ring pr ogram unde rwa y at Pa lmer Sta tion as pa rt o f a
large eco system - sca le study . Pa lme r S ta tion mir ror s current pa tterns in to urism a nd
to urist -wildlife intera ctions in the weste rn Antar ctic Pe ninsula . It also pro vides unique
oppo rtunitie s fo r r esea rch o n human impacts, including the prese nce o f lo ng-te rm
da tabase s that do cument enviro nmental v aria bili ty ove r time a nd spa ce in both m arine
and ter restria l habitats, as well as the ability to ex am ine po tential tourist impa cts as part
of co ntr olle d ex pe rime nts.
Our re se ar ch is e xpecte d to capital ize and ex pand o n two k ey findings to date . One is the
disco ver y of a pre vio usly unre co gnize d so urce o f v aria bi lity in the Adé lie pe nguin
po pula tion r esulting from inte ractio ns be twee n la ndscape geo mo rpho logy and changing
pa tterns o f snow depositio n due to climate w armi ng. The other is the o bse rva tion tha t
pe nguins bree ding in less de sirable la ndscapes ma y be mo re susce ptible to cumulativ e
impa cts induce d by the pre sence of human activity .
These findings hav e impor tant im plica tions fo r understa nding intera ctions be twee n
clim ate change and e cosyste m response, and for dete cting, mi ti ga ting, a nd ma na ging
the co nse que nce s o f hum an a ctiv ities such as tourism. (B–198–P; N SF/OP P 01–30525)
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Effects of foraging on the lipid biochemistry of
freely diving Weddell seals.
Mic hael A. Cas tellini, Univers it y of Alas ka –Fairbanks , and Lorrie D . Rea,
University of Cent ral Florida.
Our prima ry go al is to qua ntify the dy namics of lipid uptak e and use in a na tura lly
fo raging ma mma lian carnivo re by ex am ining fre ely diving W edde ll se als ( Leptonycho te s
wedde llii ) in Antarctica . This species, in this e nv iro nm ent, o ffers a unique o ppor tunity—
one that ma y no t be possible in a ny other syste m— to fo llow the biochem istry and
physio logy o f nutrie nt use in a la rge ca rniv or e.
To o ur k no wle dge, the in viv o nutritional biochem istry of fora ging in a free -ranging, la rge
mam malia n ca rni vor e ha s ne ver bee n a tte mpted. W hile such studies ca n be conducte d in
labora tor ies or zo os, they a re nece ssarily lim ited to ca pti ve anim als who se feeding time s
and diets are dete rmined and co nstra ined.
For sev er al de cades, the W edde ll se al has be en the fo cus of studie s using isol ated ho les
thro ugh the se a ice near M cM ur do Sta tion to study natural diving physio logy. I n that
sy stem, the se al has acce ss to a singl e ice ho le where it ro utine ly returns to brea the,
sle ep, a nd di ge st. Using bloo d- sa mpling cathete rs, we ha ve bee n a ble to co llect seria l
sa mples whenev er the seal re tur ns to the surface betwe en div ing bo uts. During such
exper iments on div ing physiolo gy, these se als activ ely ca ught a nd digeste d their prey ,
but a ny o bse rv atio ns on nutritio na l che mistry we re incide nta l and not part o f the study
de si gn.
Like a ll se als, W eddell sea ls re ly prima rily on lipi d me ta bolism for their daily e nergy
de mands. The refo re, w e will exa mine the k ine tics o f lipid upta ke a nd use during a ctiv e
fo raging bouts. We will o bta in bloo d sam ple s fro m fre ely divi ng anima ls dur ing the se
bo uts; use labe led, tra ced e xperim ents to quantify lipid tur no ve r ra tes; a nd se para te the
lipid po ol into its v ario us co mponents.
In addition, w e will co mpare adults with pups, which are biochem ically a da pte d for
massive and ra pid lipid use w hile nursing. This project is unique to A nta rctica and will
pro vide a n insight into ma mma lian bio chemistry ne ver befor e po ssible . These data will be
impo rta nt not only to a nta rctic e cosy ste m studies, but also to the entire field of l ipid
meta bo lism in ma mma ls a nd to the study of ca rniv or e bio logy . (B –199–M; NSF /OP P 01–
30417)
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Interactive effects of ultraviolet radiation and
vertical mixing on phytoplankton and bacterial
productivity of Ross Sea Phaeocystis bloom.
Wade H. Jeff rey, Un iversity of W est Florida, an d P atrick J. Neale, Smith sonian
Inst it ution.
Ultra vio let (U V) radia tio n influences pla nk ton in the nea r -surface wa ter s o f mo st
ecosy stems. I n particular , the Southern Ocea n is affe cted i n the austral spring, w he n U V
radiatio n is e nha nce d by ozo ne deple ti on. W hile pro gr ess ha s bee n ma de in e stim ating
the im pa ct o f UV ra dia tion on ba cteria a nd phy toplank to n in the So uthe rn Ocea n,
impo rta nt issue s r ema in to be re solv ed. Little is kno wn, fo r ex ample, about response s in
sy stems domina ted by the co lo nia l ha pto phy te Phae ocystis anta rctica , which dom ina tes
spring blo oms in the southern Ross Sea . The pre sence of o pe n wa ter at a far southerly
locatio n, we ll within the o zone hole in the spring, and o f continuous day light, with
impl ica tions fo r DN A re pa ir, m ak e the R oss Sea o f intense intere st.
A number of studies suggest tha t v ertica l m ixing ca n significa ntly m odify the impa ct o f
UV radia ti on. H owe ve r, the limi te d me asure ments of turbulence inte nsi ty in the surfa ce
laye r that have be en do ne ha ve not been integrate d with pa ralle l studies o f the effe cts o f
UV radia ti on o n phyto pla nk ton and bacte rioplank ton. To address the se issue s, we will
fo cus on ve rtical mix ing and U V radiatio n in the R oss Sea a nd cha racte rize phytopla nk ton
and bacter ioplankto n re spo nses in both l abora tor y and so lar incubatio ns. The se studies
will le ad to bio lo gica l we ighting functio ns and r esponse mo de ls ca pa ble o f pre dicting the
impa ct o f U V ra dia tio n on pho tosynthesis, ba cte ria l incor po ratio n, a nd DN A da mage in
the surface la ye r.
We will me asure depth- de pe nde nt pr ofiles of DN A da ma ge , bacter ial incor po ratio n,
photo synthesis, a nd fluo rescence para me ters ov er a 24- ho ur cy cl e. W e ha ve o ptimized
mea sure me nts fo r typical spr ingtime co nditions in the Ro ss Se a, whe re stabilizing
influences like so lar hea ting and/o r surface freshwa ter from me lting ice me an tha t not
enough turbule nce is prese nt to thoro ughly mix the uppe r la ye r.
We will de ve lop fine - sca le ve rtical density pr ofiles to directly e stim ate la rge eddy sca les.
Estima ted turbulent diffusiv ities and e ddy scale s will be dir ectly re late d to surfa ce lay er
effe cts and used to ge ne rate models of UV ra dia tion responses in the surfa ce mix ed
laye r.
This first in- de pth study of UV radia tion i n the Ross Sea w ill e nha nce scientific
understa nding o f ve rtical mix ing pro cesse s, tro phic inte ra ctio ns, and bio ge ochem ical
cy cling in the Ro ss Se a and will prov ide a va lua bl e co mpar ison w ith prev ious wo rk in the
Weddell –Sco tia Co nfluence a nd Pa lmer Sta tion regions. ( B–200–N and B –203 –N;
NSF/ OPP 01 –27022 and N SF/ OPP 01 –27037)
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Ultraviolet -radiation-induced changes in the
patterns of production and composition of
biochemical compounds in antarctic marine
phytoplankton.
Joaquim I. Goes, Bigelo w Marine Labo rat ory.
There is e no ugh evide nce to show that prese nt lev els of incident ultra vio let (UV )
radiatio n— 280 to 400 na no mete rs (nm) —are im pa iring phytopla nk ton pro ductiv ity in the
Southern Oce an. Yet efforts aim ed a t e xtra po lating these findi ngs to allo w a ccur ate a nd
unam biguous predictio ns of the co nse que nce s o f UV ra dia tion on the a ntarctic ma rine
fo od w eb a nd bio geo che mical cycle s in the se a have be en co nfounded by unce rtainty.
Estima tes of the e ffects of UV radia tion o n the antar ctic ma rine eco sy stem ra nge fro m
insignifica nt to ca ta strophic. Thi s dispa rity has be en attribute d to la ck of inform atio n in
key a re as of photo bio logy a nd pho tochemistry .
Ge ne ra lly, studies ha ve bee n base d o n broa dba nd UV radia ti on a nd do not tak e into
account co mpeting re spo nse s o f phytopla nk ton at diffe rent w ave lengths acr oss the
wav eband. Such info rma tion is critica l if we are to understa nd the co nse que nce s o f U V
radiatio n e nha nce ment on ca rbon assimila tion by m arine phy toplank ton a nd its
co nseque nce s fo r the foo d we b and bio ge ochem ica l cycles. This is e spe cia lly true in
regions like the Antarctic, w he re stra to sphe ric o zone concentra tions ca n decre ase by
about 50 pe rcent e ach spring, there by alter ing the pro po rtio n o f UV –B ( 280 to 320 nm)
and UV –A ( 320 to 400 nm) r adiatio n that phy toplankto n re ceiv e during their grow th
se aso n.
We will system atica lly inv estigate changes in the producti on ra tes and co mpositio n of
bio che mical co mpo unds within antar cti c phytopla nk ton ce lls under spe ctrally de fined
co nditio ns. We will e xam ine bo th la bo rato ry cultur es and natura l populatio ns in order to
understa nd:
z ho w the ce llula r bio chemica l pro cesses of phyto plankto n ar e a ffecte d by the
inte rpl ay betwe en the diffe rent UV wav ele ngths a nd v isi ble light,
z ho w se nsitiv ity to UV ra diatio n va rie s a cr oss ta xo nomic groups o f phy toplankto n,
and
z whe the r this differ ence in sensitivity i s re spo nsible for the dom ina nce of o ne
specie s o ve r the o ther.
We will also study the e ffe ct o f UV ra dia tion on nutrie nt upta ke by phy toplankto n ce lls.
The info rma tion we ga in wil l help ascer tain the ro le of U V radia ti on in the phyto pla nkto n
dy na mics o f the So uthe rn Ocea n. (Additional inform atio n can be found o n o ur W eb site:
www.bigelo w.org/ arctic/go es/index .html .) ( B–206–N; N SF/OP P 01–26150)
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Comparative and quantitative studies of protistan
molecular ecology and physiology in coastal
antarctic waters.
Reb ec ca J. Gas t and Mark R. Den nett , Woo ds Hole O ceanog raph ic Ins titu tio n,
an d David A. Caron , Univers it y of Sou thern California.
Photo trophic a nd heter otro phic pr otists ( single - ce ll o rga nisms —e.g., pro tozo a) a re
ubiquito us in e xtre me co ld- water e nv ironme nts, where they a re ce ntra l to the pro ductio n
and use of e ne rgy and the cycling o f ele me nts. The domina nce o f protists in a nta rctic
fo od w ebs indicates ma jo r ecol ogical and bio ge ochemica l ro les fo r the se unice llular
euka ryo tes. U nde rstandi ng the structure a nd div ersity o f these co mmunities and the
adaptatio ns that allo w them to flourish ne ar the low er limit of te mpera ture in the o ce an
is o f fundame nta l importa nce to a knowle dge o f biolo gica l ocea nogra phy, a s we ll a s the
activitie s a nd ev olution of life o n o ur plane t.
The diver sity of pro tistan a ssembla ge s has traditio na lly bee n studie d using micro sco py
and mo rpho logica l chara cteriza tion. S uch an a ppro ach is inadequate for e co lo gica l
studies of the se co mm unities due to its te dio us nature a nd the inher ent la ck of
ta xo nomic chara cters asso ciated with mo st sm all pr otists. M ole cula r methods that use
ge ne se que nce s to identify and quantify na tur ally o ccurr ing protists offer a better
so lution to this problem .
We will pe rform m ole cula r and phy siolo gical studies on pr otistan a sse mblages in the sea
water a nd ice habitats of the Ro ss Se a to a ddre ss com munity structure, po pula tion
abundance, and a da pta tion to life in e xtre me co ld. We will fo cus prima rily o n species of
phago tr ophic pro ti sts (pro tozo a) that are e colo gically impo rtant but for which no
infor matio n e xists. Our work i s designe d to co ntr ibute to the unde rstanding o f the
bio div ersity o f the protista n a sse mblages of coa sta l Anta rctica, to pr ovi de to ols fo r
ecolo gical studie s, a nd to pro duce benchma rk da ta on the ba sic physiolo gical proce sses
of pro tista n specie s in this ex trem e co ld -water e nv ironme nt. (B –207–N; N SF/OP P 01–
25833 and N SF/ OPP 01 –25437)
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Southern Ocean GLOBEC (Global Ocean
Ecosystem Dynamics) Mysticete whale acoustic
census in the GLOBEC west antarctic project
area.
John A. Hild ebran d, S cripp s Inst it ution of Oc eanography, Universit y of
California –San Dieg o, and Debo rah Thiele, Deakin Universit y.
Before l arge - sca le com mercia l wha ling dur ing the e arly 20th century, the Southern
Oce an he ld the wor ld's mo st e xtensive populatio n o f balee n wha les, a s we ll as large
numbers o f blue , fin, sei , and humpba ck whale s. Despite a ne ar ly complete ba n on
wha ling since the 1970s, antar ctic popul atio ns of ba lee n whale s re ma in lo w. P assive
acoustic surv ey s, coupled w ith shi pboa rd v isua l surv ey s, prov ide an efficie nt me ans o f
assessing the po pula tion, distributio n, and se aso na lity of wha les.
Our ma in intere st is the blue whale ( Bala enopter a musculus ), follo we d by the fin ( B.
physa lus ), humpba ck ( Megapter a no va ea nglia e), mi nk e ( B. acuto rostra ta ), a nd spe rm
wha le ( Physete r macro cephalus , an odonto ce te) . Be cause the v oca lizatio ns o f these
wha les are unique and ea sily re cognizable, i t is po ssible to use passiv e aco ustic
te chniques to distinguish particula r specie s so we ca n unde rstand why they re turn o r do
no t r eturn to the So uther n Ocea n.
We will ex amine the va ria bility o f wha les in the Anta rctic a nd how their prese nce r ela te s
to krill, ice, a nd othe r So uthe rn Oce an Globa l Oce an Ecosy stem Dynam ics (S OGLOBEC)
studies. De termi ning the patte rns o f whale a bunda nce and distributio n is central to
understa nding eco logical inter actions inv olv ing these top preda to rs.
We ar e using co ntinuous -reco rding se a floo r pa ck ages and co llecting data during
bia nnual surve y cruise s. Instruments were deploy ed in 2001, a nd ea ch re co rds
co ntinuo usly a t 500 sa mples pe r seco nd for 15 mo nths. During this se aso n's cruises, we
will re furbish a nd redeplo y the se sea flo or re cording pack ages and perfo rm mo re passiv e
acoustic studies. W e will also co nduct v isua l surv ey s a nd de plo y sono buo ys, e xpendable
underwa ter listening dev ices tha t ca n transmit aco ustic data for up to 8 ho urs. Deploy ed
aro und o bse rve d groups o f whale s, these re cordings prov ide a mea ns for co rrela ting calls
with num be rs o f wha les pre sent, a nd the y can also be com pa red with the sea flo or data .
The deploy ment of a large - aperture a uto nomo us hydro pho ne a rra y will prom ote
inco rpora tion of pa ssiv e aco ustics as a too l fo r wha le dete ctio n a nd census a nd pro vide
ne w insight into the role o f these to p predato rs i n pola r e cosy ste ms. The reco ve ry or
po tential lo ss of the antar ctic blue wha le populatio n, which once num be red mo re tha n
200,000, is no t o nly a que stion o f specie s e xtinction, but it is a lso rele va nt to a ll
Southern Oce an ecosy stem studie s. (B –239–N and B –280 –N; N SF/OP P 01–36493)
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Physiological and molecular mechanisms of
stress tolerance in a polar insect.
Rich ard Lee, Miami University of Ohio, an d D avid L. Denlin ger, Oh io St ate
University.
Po lar terr estria l e nv iro nm ents a re o fte n described a s dese rts. In a ddition, pro longed low
winte r temper atures thr ea ten surv ival , and summe r te mpera tures pr oduce po tentially
rapid a nd difficult tra nsitio ns fro m fre ezing to desiccatio n. Globa l wa rming ha s had a
further impact, especiall y as a result of gla cia l retre at alo ng the Antar ctic Pe ninsula .
We will fo cus o n therm al and hydric adaptatio ns in the te rrestria l midge , Belgica
antarctica , the largest and m ost so uther ly ho lom eta bo lous inse ct liv ing in this chal lenging
enviro nment. Since free w ater is una va ilable, ov erwinte ring midge la rva e encase d in the
fro zen substrate m ust endur e de sert -like co nditions fo r mor e tha n 300 day s. Dur ing the
summ er, larv ae m ay be imm erse d in m elt wate r o r the outwash fro m pe nguin r oo ker ies
and sea l wallo ws, in additio n to sa ltwate r spla sh. Alternativ ely , la rva e ma y be subje cted
to exte nde d perio ds o f de siccatio n as their micr ohabitats dr y out.
Our re se ar ch will fo cus on thr ee a rea s:
z Mic roc limatic variability: Our prim ary o bje ctiv e is to o bta in a deta iled
cha racte rizatio n o f micro climatic conditions e xperie nce d by B. anta rctica,
espe cially r ela ted to the rmal a nd hy dr ic dive rsity, bo th sea sonal ly and a mong
microha bita ts nea r P alme r Statio n. The se da ta will be critica l fo r e stablishing the
rele va nt eco logical conditions to be used in la bo ra to ry e xperim ents.
z Phys iological and molecular resp onses t o ext reme fluct uat ion s in wat er
availab ilit y: W e will a ssess the hypothe sis that midge la rv ae use cryo pr ote ctiv e
de hy dr atio n for winter surviv al. It i s a lso anticipa ted tha t gene s enco ding hea t
sho ck pro teins and o the r ge ne s a re up-regulated in la rva l re spo nse s to
de hy dr atio n and r ehydra ti on.
z Diet ary trans miss io n o f c ryop rot ect ants : Our e xperim ents a re designe d to
te st the hypothe sis that midge la rv ae a cquire increa sed resistance to desicca ti on
and tem pe rature stre ss by ge tting cryo prote cta nts from thei r ho st plants.
We will also pro vide outre ach to ele mentar y and seco nda ry e ducato rs a nd their stude nts.
The field te am will include a te acher a nd will use e - mail and digital picture s to
co mmunicate dai ly progre ss to e leme ntary schoo l te acher s a nd students. These efforts
will be supple mented by pre se ntatio ns at loca l scho ols and natio nal te acher me etings and
the publica tion of a rticles re lated to cry obiolo gy and pola r bio logy in educa tion jo ur na ls.
Furthe rmo re, o ur la bo ra torie s will co ntinue to trai n under gra dua te, gra dua te, a nd
po stdo ctora l students. (B –256–P; N SF/OP P 03–37656)
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Soil biodiversity and response to climate change:
A regional comparison of Cape Hallett and Taylor
Valley, Antarctica.
W. Berry Lyon s, O hio S tate Univers it y; Diana H. W all, Colorado St ate Univers ity;
Ros s A. Virginia and Joh n E. Barrett , Dartmou th Co llege; an d S teph en C . C ary,
University of Delaw are.
Soil eco system s a long the Victor ia Land co ast fr om the McMurdo Dry Va lley s in the so uth
to Cape H alle tt in the no rth o ccur acro ss broa d gra die nts of bio diver sity, clim ate, and so il
reso urce le gacies from pre vio us clima tes (or ga ni c ma tter, nutrie nts, and sal ts) . The
range of co nditio ns can be use d to test spe cific hypothese s deriv ed from a so il
bio div ersity a nd habitat mo de l dev elo ped fro m the McM ur do Dry Va lley s L ong- Te rm
Eco logical Re se ar ch Pr ogram ( LTER) . This habitat suitability mo de l describe s the
distribution, a bunda nce , a nd div ersity o f so il bio ta ba sed o n a co mbina tion of le ga cy and
co ntempor ary so il and clima te pr opertie s.
We will ex tend this m odel to the gr eate r Victoria Land re gio n a t Ca pe Ha llett. I nsights
into the re latio nship be tw een bi odive rsity ( microbe s a nd inv erte br ates) a nd eco system
functio ning (so il re spir atio n and nutrient cycling) m ay be especia lly impor tant in Victo ria
Land since it e nco mpasse s a ra nge o f e co syste ms, from those with ne ar -minimum
organic matte r and no inve rtebrate s to tho se with v ery high o rga nic ma tter deposits and
co mplex fo od we bs. Our 2 -yea r progra m of fie ld and la bora tory resea rch wi ll a ddre ss
ho w so il fo od we bs and e cosy ste m pr ocesse s a re affected by clim ate, legacy , a nd
co ntempor ary so il pro cesses.
We will be gin the regio na lizatio n o f re sults and insights fr om the McMurdo LTER study
and deter mine whether the cha nge s in biodive rsity a long the range of soil habitats and
landsca pe gradie nts in Tay lor Va lley o ccur simila rly a cross gra dients in a richer , mo re
co mplex ha bita t ( Cape H alle tt). There is an imme dia te nee d to unde rstand how so il
bio div ersity a nd eco system functio ning a re re lated and to dete rmine the fa ctors
influencing the distributio n o f soil biodive rsity acr oss A nta rctica.
The tax ono mic co mplex ity of so il fo od webs e lsewher e limits o ur a bility to dra w
infer ences about the functio na l si gnificance of biodive rsity a nd the re spo nses of so il
co mmunities to va ryi ng co nditions and clima te. The e xtensio n and te sting of a co nceptua l
model o f soil biodive rsity based on the simple st soi l co mmunities on Ear th will contribute
to the k no wle dge o f comple x temper ate e co syste ms. The se linked studies o f micro bia l
and inve rtebra te dive rsity in re latio n to so il o rganic matte r, mo isture, and te mpe ra ture
cha nge a t Tay lor Va lley a nd Cape H alle tt will prov ide o ne o f the mo st co mplete
quantitativ e asse ssm ents o f so il dive rsity to date . (B –259–M; NSF /OP P 02 –29836)
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Hydrologic controls over biogeochemistry and
microbial community structure and function
across terrestrial/aquatic interfaces in a polar
desert.
Mic hael N. Go oseff, Utah St ate University; Cristina D. Takaes -Ves bach,
University of New Mexic o; an d J ohn E. Barret t, Dartmou th College.
Aquatic - te rre strial tra nsitio n zo ne s a re crucial to under standing the biogeo che mistry o f
landsca pe s. In te mpera te wa te rsheds, these a rea s a re genera lly dom ina ted by ripar ian
zo nes, which ha ve bee n identified a s bio ge ochem ica l ho t -spo ts beca use o f the incr ease d
microbia l a ctivity a nd be cause of the ir i mpo rta nce in fa cilitating a nd buffe ring hydrolo gic
and biogeo che mica l e xchanges be twee n te rrestria l and a quatic eco system s.
In the antar ctic Dry Va lleys, terre strial - aqua tic tra nsition zo ne s a re intriguing beca use of
the v ast importa nce o f wa ter in this pola r de sert and beca use the ma ter ial and e ne rgy
budge ts o f Dry Va lley e cosyste ms are link ed by hydrolo gy. W e will study hydro logical
margins in Dry Valle y aquatic -te rre strial tra nsitio n zo ne s to a nsw er two que stions:
z What are the ma jo r contro ls o ve r hy dro logic and biogeo chemica l e xchange acro ss
aqua tic- te rre strial tra nsitio n zo ne s?
z To wha t e xtent do tr ends in nutrient cycling acr oss the se zo ne s re flect diffe rence s
in micro bi al comm unitie s o r functio n v ersus diffe rences in the phy sical and
che mical env ironme nt?
The hydrolo gic gra die nts that de fine these inter fa ces pro vide the o ppor tunity to a sse ss
the re lativ e influence o f phy sical conditions a nd micro bia l bio div ersity a nd functioning o n
bio ge ochem ical cycling. Our co or dina ted hydro logic, bio ge ochemi ca l, a nd mo lecular
microbia l studi es ha ve the follo wing rese arch obje ctive s:
z to de term ine the ro le of sediment cha ra cte ristics, perm afrost a nd active l aye r
dy na mics, a nd topogra phy o n subsurface wa ter co nte nt and distribution in
hy dro lo gic ma rgins;
z to de term ine the e xtent to which transform atio ns of nitr ogen in hy dr olo gica l
margins a re influe nce d by phy sica l co nditio ns o r by the pre sence of spe cific
microbia l co mmunities; a nd
z to cha racte rize the micro bia l co mmunity structure a nd function o f satura ted
zo nes.
Our re se ar ch will improv e under sta nding o f the intera cti on o f liquid wa te r, so ils, micr obial
co mmunities, and biogeo chemistry within the Dry Va lley s, whose stre ams and la ke s a re
unique be ca use highe r vegeta tion do es not influence the mo vem ent o f wa ter. They may
the refor e pro vide a m odel for under sta nding physical a nd hydro logical influe nce s o n
microbia l e colo gy a nd biogeo chemistry .
Our findings will contribute to antarctic science, a s w ell as the broa der study o f ripari an
zo nes and hydro logic m argins. We w ill invo lve gra dua te and unde rgr adua te stude nts in
our rese arch a nd will dissemina te info rmatio n thro ugh a pro je ct W eb site . Outrea ch will
include scie nce educa tion in lo cal ele mentar y, m iddle , and high schoo ls. (B –268–M;
NSF/ OPP 03 –38267, NSF /OPP 03 –36970, and N SF/OP P 03 –38174)
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Relevance of planktonic larval dispersal to
endemism and biogeography of antarctic benthic
invertebrates.
Ken neth M. H alanyc h, Aub urn University, an d Ru dolf S . Sc heltema, Wo ods Hole
Oceano graphic Inst it ution.
Because o f the ex tr eme iso latio n o f the antar ctic continent si nce the Early Oligoce ne, a
unique inv erte bra te benthi c fauna with a high degre e of e nde mism would be e xpected.
Ye t so me inver tebrate ta xa that constitute importa nt eco logical co mpo nents o f
se di mentar y benthic co mmunities include mo re tha n 40 per cent no ne nde mic specie s
(e.g., be nthic po lycha etes) . To acco unt fo r no nende mic spe ci es, interm ittent gene tic
exchange betwe en a nta rctic and o the r ( South Ame rica n) populatio ns must occur. The
most like ly me cha nism for such gene flow, at lea st for infauna l and mo bile
macro bentho s, is dispe rsal o f pl ankto nic lar va e acro ss the suba nta rctic a nd antar cti c
po lar fronts.
To te st for la rva l dispersa l a s a m echanism fo r mai nta ining genetic continui ty acro ss
po lar fronts, we w ill ta ke plank ton sa mple s a long tr ansects acro ss the Dr ak e Pa ssa ge
during both the a ustra l summ er and wi nte r se aso ns while concurre ntly co llecting the
appro priate hy dro graphic data ( ve rtical and ho rizontal tem pe rature s a nd ho rizo nta l
curre nt data ). Such da ta will he lp e lucidate the hydro gra phic me cha nism s that allo w
dispersa l a cro ss the Dr ake P assage.
Using a mo lecular phylo ge ne tic a ppro ach, we will a lso com pa re see mingly ide nti ca l adult
fo rms fro m Antarctica a nd South Am erica to identify ge ne tic bre ak s a nd histo rical gene
flo w a nd contro l fo r the prese nce o f cry ptic spe cies, a nd em plo y simila r mole cula r too ls
to re late plank tonic la rv ae to their a dult fo rms. Through this proce dure , we wi ll link the
larv al fo rms to their re spe ctiv e a nta rctic o r South Am erica n o rigins.
Our re se ar ch is inte nded to build a sy nthe tic unde rstanding of historica l ge ne flo w a nd
pre sent -da y disper sa l mechanisms in the So uth Ame rica/ Dr ake P assa ge /Antar cti c
Peninsula regio n. This work re pr esents one of the first atte mpts to ex am ine r ecent ge ne
flo w in a nta rctic benthic inv erte bra tes. We will trai n graduate stude nts and a postdocto ral
fe llow, and if po ssible , one o f o ur tea m me mbe rs will be a high scho ol tea che r in o rde r to
pro mo te K –12 educa tion. ( B–281–L; NSF /OPP 03–38218 and N SF/ OPP 03–38087)
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Genetic and photogrammetric investigations of
three ecotypes of killer whales in the southern
Ross Sea.
Rob ert L. P it man, N at io nal Oc eanic an d At mosph eric Adminis tration, and
Rich ard LeDuc an d W ayne L. P erryman, National Oc eanic and At mosph eric
Ad minist rat ion , Nat ion al Marine Fis heries .
We will ev aluate the hypo the sis that thr ee distinct eco types of k iller whale s ( Or ci nus sp.)
are found in the Ro ss Se a dur ing the austra l summe r. These form s hav e differe nt pre y
and habitats, diffe rent schoo l sizes and geo gra phic distr ibutio ns, a nd distinct
morpholo gies. If true, this hy po thesis w ill la rgely re shape our unde rstanding of k iller
wha les in Antar cti ca . Giv en their numbers ( curr ent e stimate s, 25,000 to 94,000) and
sta tus as top pr edato rs, k iller whale s a re undo ubtedly a m ajor force in the a nta rctic
ecosy stem, but the ir r ole a nd conserv atio n sta tus de pe nd on pr operly identifying their
ta xo nomy , specifying their dieta ry nee ds, a nd a sse ssing the im pa ct o f fishe ries.
We will fo cus o n two ma in a ctivitie s:
z
using a la unch to co lle ct projectile bio psy sa mpl es tha t will be sequenced a nd
analy zed to co mpare ge ne tic dive rgence am ong the three fo rms. To date , we
ha ve co llected 47 sample s from a ntarctic k iller whale s; as a target sam ple size ,
we would lik e 50 o f ea ch form .
z using a heli co pter -mounted ca mer a system to o bta in a eri al photo gra phs of
individual whale s. The se pho tographs wil l be used to a ccura tely dete rmine le ngth
and body propor tions fo r mo rpho lo gica l co mpariso ns.
Pre vio usly publishe d da ta indica te tha t the for m tha t is mo st co mmo n in the so uther n
Ross Sea m ay be significantly sma ller than the typical kill er whale . The sca rcity of
expo se d bea che s o n which whale s m ight strand a nd the po or odds that they wo uld be
fo und if they did m ean tha t co llecting a ho loty pe specim en se ems unlik ely . H owe ve r, we
ha ve perfe cte d a te chnique fo r a ccur ately de termi ning the body length and pro po rtio ns of
ce tace ans photo gr aphe d from the a ir to pro vide mo rpho lo gica l e vidence o f phe no typic
div ergence.
The kille r whale is one o f the most reco gniza ble a nd best -studied la rge anima ls o n Earth.
Ye t basic que stio ns a bo ut how ma ny spe cies there a re a nd what the ir pla ce is in the
ecosy stem rem ain unanswere d. Our study will dem onstra te the fea sibili ty of using
no nl ethal techniques to conduct re se ar ch on whale s in the So uthe rn Ocea n Sa nctua ry:
so me 300 to 400 mink e wha les ar e kille d ea ch y ear in Anta rctica to conduct simila r
resea rch. Co nfirm ing ne w spe cies wo ul d also highlight the fact that our knowle dge o f
marine biodive rsity is mor e rudim entary than is curre ntl y tho ught. ( B–289 –M; NSF /OP P
03 –38428)
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Origin and evolution of antarctic and deep-sea
macroinfauna: Systematics and reproductive
patterns of polychaetes.
James A. Blake, Univers it y of Mas sach uset ts .
We will address the o rigin o f dee p-se a benthic fauna in re latio n to the anta rctic shelf and
link ages to the de ep -se a fauna of the Atla ntic and P acific Oce ans, hypothe se s to expla in
high bio div ersity in the dee p sea , benthic co mmunity structure in the So uthe rn Oce an,
and biolo gica l pro cesses including re pr oductio n a nd larv al dev elo pm ent o f benthic
inv erte br ates. We will focus o n sev en poly cha ete fam ilies: Or biniidae , Owe niida e ,
Par ao nida e , Spio nida e , Cirra tulida e , Sca libregma tida e , and Opheliidae . Othe r fa milie s will
be include d a s a ppro pria te.
Our re se ar ch is divi de d into the fo llowing ta sks:
z pa rticipa te in the AN DEEP ( anta rctic be nthic DEEP -se a biodive rsity: co lonisatio n
histo ry and r ecent co mmunity pa tterns) III sur ve y, which w ill co llect infa una
sa mples from the dee p basin betwe en southern Africa a nd the Scotia Se a, the
easte rn W edde ll Sea , and the dee p We dde ll Se a Ba sin; co llect box co re o r
mul ti co re se dime nt sa mples (all fauna will be r emo ve d from the sedime nt, sorte d,
and prese rve d on the ship);
z study the sy stema tics o f the seve n fam ilies;
z co llect lar va l a nd po stlarv al poly cha ete s from surficial multico re sample se dim ents
to de ve lop da ta on tr ansient po stlarv al stage s;
z co llect lar va e fro m the ne ar -bo ttom env ironme nt a nd fro m ne ar the sur fa ce to
understa nd the m ode of larv al dispe rsal of a nta rctic a nd de ep -se a poly cha ete s;
z sy nthe size the re sults to dev elo p a benthic co mmunity analy sis co mpa ra ble to
tha t being dev elo ped fro m sa mples tak en during AN DEEP II;
z sy nthe size the re sults o f indiv idua l re sea rch a nd contribute to a la rger
inte rdi sciplinar y effo rt with o the r m embe rs o f the AN DEEP te am; a nd
z use surface pho togra phs and sedime nt pro file im ages to pr ov ide deta iled suppo rting docume nta tion of the physical and bio logical prope rties of the
se di ments.
There are v ery few studie s tha t a ddre ss the origins o f poly cha ete s in the So uthe rn Oce an
and ev en fe wer for the fa milie s we will study . We w ill use mo de rn cla di stic me tho ds to
addre ss the phyloge ne tic re latio nships and biogeo gr aphic o rigins of the se poly cha ete s, as
well as the ir system atics. Data o n r eproduction, dev elo pm ent, a nd distribution will
co ntribute to a be nthic co mmunity data ba se tha t will a lso perm it co mpa riso ns with dee pse a fauna in o the r pa rts o f the wo rld. (B –292–E; N SF/ OP P 00–86665)
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Biogeochemistry of dissolved organic material in
Pony Lake, Ross Island.
Yu -Ping Chin, O hio S tate Univers it y; P enney Miller, Rose -Hulman In st it ute of
Techn olog y; Diane M. McKnigh t, Un iversity of Colorado– Bou lder; and Christ ine
M. Forman , Mont ana Stat e Universit y.
Disso lve d or ga nic ma tter is a signifi ca nt chem ica l co mpone nt in a quatic syste ms beca use
it a cts as an importa nt ca rbo n so ur ce fo r micr oo rga nisms, a bso rbs harm ful radiatio n,
co mplex es meta ls, a nd participa te s in importa nt bioge ochemica l r edox r eactio ns. We will
study the bio ge ochem ical cycling o f di sso lve d o rga nic ma tter in P ony La ke , a sma ll
co asta l po nd on C ape Ro yds, Ro ss Isla nd. Be cause there a re no hi gher plants, a ll o f the
organic matte r in this la ke is micr obially der ive d fr om pho toa utotro phic (the ability to use
light to sy nthesize foo d fro m i no rganic m ate rials) , heter otro phic ( de pe nde nt on comple x
organic compo unds for nutr ition), and mix otr ophic o rga nism s, ma king it an ide al study
site .
We will:
z exa mine how natural photo lytic pro cesses in the la ke a nd la bo ra to ry irr adiatio ns
of wa ter sam ple s a nd reco nsti tute d sample s o f disso lve d o rga nic m atter a lter its
co mpositio n,
z de termine changes in the redo x state o f thi s ma teria l in the wa ter column and in
se di ment inte rstitial wate r with increa sed o xyge n input,
z exa mine how the che mical prope rties of dissol ved orga nic ma teria l cha nge with
microbia l utilizatio n,
z monito r the changes in micro bi al abundance that result fro m shifts in dissolv ed
organic mate rial during the tr ansition fro m ice to o pe n wa ter,
z tr ack the cha nge s in the m icrobial co mmunity as the e ne rgy so urce cha nges,
z de termine whe the r the e xtra cellular e nzy me profile s o f the wa ter column va ry in
rela tion to the a ltere d ma ter ial, a nd
z exa mine the rela tionship betwe en m icrobia l dive rsity and the biogeo chemistry o f
the ma ter ial.
During the first se aso n, we will study the cha nge s a s the lak e e vo lves from ice -co ve red
to ice -fre e conditions. W e will a lso fractio nate sam ple s into chem ica lly unique classe s, as
well as mo nitor the compo si ti on a nd rea ctivity o f the ma teria l. Fina lly, w e plan to study
the mi cr obial com munity a nd mo nito r cha nge s in a bunda nce , dive rsity, and productivity
tha t ma y o ccur during the tra nsitio n fro m i ce to open wate r a nd genera te ex trace llula r
enzyme profile s, since enzyma tic hydro lysis is belie ve d to be the ra te -limiting step in
ca rbon remi ne raliza tion.
In ye ar 2, we w ill co llect fulv ic a ci d sample s. The a mount o f wa ter nee de d is signifi ca ntly
sm alle r tha n the amo unt lo st to a bla tion, a nd all iso lates will be tho roughly
cha racte rized. In yea r 3, we pla n to perfor m so lar - sim ula ted pho to lysis and co ntr ol
exper iments in the United State s.
This pro je ct will grea tly increa se our understa nding o f the cycling o f ca rbo n a nd the
rela tionship be twee n mi cr obial dive rsity a nd the bio ge ochem istr y of dissolv ed organic
matte r. (B –300–M; N SF/OP P 03–38260, NSF /OPP 03–38121, NSF /OPP 03–38299, and
NSF/ OPP 03–38342)
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Salpa thompsoni in the Southern Ocean:
Bioenergetics, population dynamics, and
biogeochemical impact.
Patricia Kremer, Un iversity of C onn ecticu t, an d Laurenc e P . Madin, W oods H ole
Oceano graphic Inst it ution.
Salps a re holo plankto nic graze rs tha t a re strikingly di ffere nt from k rill, co pepods, o r
other crustacea n zo oplank to n. Sa lps so metim es o ccur in ve ry de nse po pula tions tha t
co ve r large a rea s a nd hav e be en sho wn to ha ve a significa nt impact fr om both gra zing
and the productio n o f fast -sink ing fe cal pe llets. Altho ugh salps a re co mmo nly
ackno wledge d a s a m ajor com po nent o f the Southern Ocean zo oplankto n co mmunity,
often co mpara ble to krill, they hav e rece ive d re lativ ely little a ttention. Ex tensive
sa mpling has do cum ented the sea sona l a bunda nce of S. thompsoni in the So uthe rn
Oce an, but there still is a pa ucity of data .
In addition to va rious rate m ea sure me nts, w e will m ak e quantitativ e surv ey s o f the
ho rizonta l a nd ve rtical di str ibution of sa lps. R esults will be use d to co nstruct a mode l o f
sa lp populatio n dynam ics. Both ex pe rime nta l a nd mo de ling re sults will be inter pre ted
within the co ntext of the physica l a nd nutritio nal conditions to which the salps are
expo se d. This inte grate d approa ch will prov ide a goo d basis fo r understa nding their
gro wth dyna mics.
Our task s a re as follo ws:
z surv ey the ex tent o f S. thompsoni bloo ms to de term ine biom ass and spatial
distribution and to a llow a re gio nal a sse ssment of the ir e ffe cts;
z mea sure the physical chara cteristics of the wa ter column and the qua ntity a nd
quality o f par ti cula te fo od;
z mea sure respiratio n a nd ex cretio n ra tes fo r so lita ry and a ggre ga te salps o f a ll
size s;
z mea sure ingestio n ra tes;
z de termine so matic growth rate s, fecundity (o f so litarie s), and fertiliza tion succe ss
(for aggregate s);
z sy nthe size rate m easure ments on sa lps into com ple te budge ts for both ca rbon
and nitroge n;
z fo rmulate a n individually base d mo de l o f sa lp popul atio n dynam ics that incl udes
rea listic behav ior patte rns a s we ll a s e xperim entally dete rmined vita l ra tes;
z ide ntify salp ho t spo ts a nd inte rpret distri butions in a n a ppro pri ate hydro gra phic
co ntext;
z use sa tellite ima gery a nd info rma tion o n se a -ice co ve r to test hypothe se s a bout
co nditio ns that result in high de nsities of sa lps; a nd
z eva luate the rel atio nship betwe en spe ci fie d hydrogra phic co nditions, ice co ve r,
and bloo ms.
Our wo rk will also invo lve tr aining graduate a nd undergra dua te stude nts, pa rticipating in
te acher - resea rcher wo rkshops, a nd co llabora ting with the N ew Engla nd Aqua rium in an
IMAX mo vie a bo ut re sea rch in A nta rctica. ( B –307 –L; NSF /OPP 03 –38290)
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What limits denitrification and bacterial growth
in Lake Bonney, Taylor Valley, Antarctica?
Bes s B. W ard, P rinc et on Univers it y; Mark L. W ells, University of Main e; an d
Charles G. Trick, Univers it y of Wes tern Ont ario, Can ada.
De nitr ifica tion refers to the loss of fix ed nitro ge n fro m e co syste ms, a nd thus i ts ra te and
regulatio n ma y dir ectly affect prima ry short - and lo ng-te rm production a nd car bo n
cy cling. Our prev ious inv estigatio n o f the role of bio active m eta ls in r egul ating
de nitri fica tion i n cul ture d bacte ria and per mane ntly ice - co ve red La ke Bo nne y in the
Ta ylo r Va lle y of Ea st Antarctica pro duced thr ee impo rtant findings:
z Gro wth e xper iments de monstra ted that culture d denitrifying bacte ria could be
limited by co pper o r iron and that nitrogen o xides accumulate d in the me dium due
to limitatio n a t the nitrite a nd nitr ous o xide re duction steps, re spe ctiv ely .
z Manipula tions of m eta l a va ilability using che lato rs, a dditio ns o f substra tes, a nd
cultured ba cteria a ll fa iled to elicit a re spo nse fro m the na tur al micro bia l
co mmunities in the la ke. No denitrificatio n o r thy midi ne inco rpo ra ti on w as
de tected in the subchem ocline wa ters of the e ast lobe of Lak e Bonney , while
analo go us e xperim ents dete cted a n a cti ve denitrifying co mmunity in the west
lobe.
z Silve r a nd iro n we re the only me tals tha t show ed dra matic distributio n diffe rences
be twee n the two lobe s. Silve r co nce ntra tions were up to 150 -fo ld highe r a nd iro n
co ncentratio ns we re 200 times lo wer in the e ast l obe tha n in the w est. Lo w iron
co ncentratio ns ma y ex ace rba te the po tential to xicity of other me tals, so ge ne ra l
meta l to xicity co uld po ssibly inhibit denitrificatio n. Since silver ca n specifically
inhibit denitrificatio n, high si lver co nce ntr atio ns might prev ent the functio ning o f
nitro us o xide re ductase in the sa me wa y tha t co ppe r limi ta tion do es by causing a
buildup of nitro us o xide and a nonfunctio na l nitro gen cy cle.
Other facto rs a re lik ely a lso at wo rk. W e will de term ine whe ther o xyge n concentra tions
are lo w enough to trigger de nitrifi ca tion in the ea st lo be . W e will also inve stiga te silve r
to xicity , gener al me tal tox icity, and o xygen concentra tion by using a suite of sentinel
str ains o f denitrifying bacte ria isola ted fro m the lak e, incuba ted in lak e wate r, a nd
subje cted to v ar ious tre atm ents to quantify thei r r esponses.
The re latio nships betwe en meta ls a nd de nitrifica tion tha t we discov er here a re ex pe cted
to she d light not only o n La ke Bo nne y's unusual nitroge n cycle , but also , mo re gene rally ,
on the pote ntia l ro le of meta ls in regulating m icrobial nitro ge n tra nsfor matio ns. ( B –310 –
M; NSF /OP P 02 –30276 and N SF/ OPP 02–30151)
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Prevention of environment -induced decrements
in mood and cognitive performance.
Law ren ce A. P alinkas , Univers it y of California – San Diego.
Cognitive perfo rma nce degra de s with residence in A nta rctica, a nd mo od alte ratio n fits a
se aso na l pa ttern during e xtended residence. Although these changes suggest
psycho logical re spo nse s to physiolo gical adaptatio ns to co ld and dim light, the exa ct
mechanisms are po orly understo od.
Our first o bjectiv e is to de te rmine whe the r lo ng- te rm ex po sure to co ld tem pe rature s
and/ or to dim light is a ssocia ted with significant changes in cognitive per fo rma nce a nd
emo tional we ll -be ing:
z Is physiolo gical adaptatio n to co ld o r a daptatio n to dim light independe ntly or
sy nergistically a ssociate d with de creme nts in co gnitive pe rfo rma nce and
emo tional we ll- be ing?
z Do pe rsonnel at South P ole Statio n ex pe rie nce gre ater physiolo gical adaptatio n
and decre ments tha n perso nne l a t M cM urdo Sta tion do ?
We also wish to dete rmine whether these decre ments ca n be prev ented or minimize d by
phar maco logic inte rve ntio ns a nd/o r photo the rapy:
z
What are the e ffects of co mbining liothyro nine so dium with le vo thy rox ine sodium
ver sus suppleme nta tion with ty rosine (a precurso r to bo th thyro id hor mone a nd
ca techola mines) a nd da ily photo the rapy?
z Is photo the rapy used in combinatio n with a pha rma co lo gic agent mo re e ffectiv e
tha n eithe r inte rve ntio n used alo ne ?
In pha se I, we e stablished co mpute r -te sting pr oto cols, dev elo ped a n effective pla cebo
ca psule , packa ged the nece ssa ry drugs, a nd te ste d the va lidity a nd re liability of
co mputer -administere d co gnition and m oo d proto cols with 30 hypo thy roid outpatie nts on
co nsta nt thyr oid ho rmo ne r eplace ment and 30 hea lthy, a ge - and sex -matched co ntrols in
Ne w Ze ala nd.
In pha se II, 50 mem be rs o f the 2002 w inte r cr ews, 35 at McMurdo Sta tion and 15 a t
South P ole Sta tion, w ere ra ndo mized in a double - blind cro ssov er de sign into 1 o f 2
tr ea tment gro ups (20 subjects in e ach gro up) a nd 1 contro l gro up (10 subje cts) . Ba seline
mea sure me nts wer e conducted, a nd trea tme nt groups we re switched a fte r a 1- month
washout pe riod. M oo d a nd memo ry te sting co mprised 5 a sse ssments ove r 12 mo nths.
Tre atme nts consisted of 50 micro gra ms ( mcg) o f le vo thy rox ine sodium plus 12.5 mcg o f
liothyro nine pe r da y, 150 milligra ms pe r k ilogra m of ty ro si ne per day , a nd a pla cebo.
In pha se III, a similar design wil l be used to e va lua te the e ffectiv eness of photo the ra py ,
alo ne a nd in co mbina tion with the mo re e ffectiv e of the two pharm aco logic inte rve ntio ns.
Our re se ar ch will lea d to a n impro ved understa nding o f the specific e nv iro nm ental
co nditio ns a nd physio logica l me cha nisms tha t a ffect be havi or and per fo rma nce in the
Anta rctic, help de ve lop co unter mea sur es fo r cir cannua l o scillatio ns o f mo od a nd cognitive
pe rfo rma nce , a nd contribute to a reduction in accidental injurie s a t high latitudes. ( B–
321 –M/S; N SF/ OPP 00–90343)
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SPISE3 (Science Package for the Exploration of
Extreme Environments 3): A noncontact
instrument suite for rapid detection of chemical
biosignatures.
Pamela G. C onrad, N atio nal Aero naut ic s and Space Adminis tration.
Endolithic m icrobia l co mmunities inha bit harsh e nviro nments tha t ma y re pre sent the
clo sest anal og to the Ma rtia n env ironme nt. As par t o f a study o f the che mica l signatures
of e ndo lithic micro bes i n hot a nd cold dese rts, we wil l go to the McMurdo Dry Va lley s with
a unique set of po rta ble no ndestructive i nstrume nts that do no t to uch the ro ck s tha t host
the o rganisms in or de r to de tect subtle chemica l biosignatures asso ciate d with life. The
instrume nt suite, ca lled SP ISE3 (S cie nce Pa ck age for the Explora tion of Ex treme
Envir onme nts 3), is co mposed of a spe ctr ora dio me ter, po rtable gas chr oma togra ph, a nd
an ultra vio let visible light wa vele ngths fluor escence spectro mete r and ima ger. Our goa l is
to de ve lop to ols and stra tegie s in pre pa ra tion fo r li fe - de tection missions to Ma rs a nd
other planets. Our task s a re a s follo ws:
z We will de ter mine whe ther we can relia bly and re pr oducibly de tect che mical
bio signa ture s that can be diffe re ntia ted fro m chemica l signature s a sso ciate d with
minera ls.
z We will ve rify tha t bio signature s a re obser va ble o ve r v ar ious spatia l sca les tha t in
pa rt define how far awa y o ne ca n be fr om a sa mple or how much sam ple i s
ne eded fo r che mical biosigna tures to be obser vable .
z We will see whe the r the chemi ca l fluxe s a ssocia ted with me taboli sm a re distinct
fro m abiolo gical, ge ochemica l ones.
Microbia l e ndo lithic com munitie s liv ing in co ld deser ts e xhibit diffe rent che mical
signature s than tho se adapted to life in hot dese rts, and w e will se e whether these
diffe re nce s will be o bse rva ble in term s o f spatia l a nd tempo ral scale s a nd che mical
co ncentratio ns.
Altho ugh the chem istry of the sa ndstone hosting e ndo lithic co mmunities in the antarctic
Dry V alle ys is re lativ ely simple ( mostly silico n a nd oxy gen), the re are a va riety o f
endo lithic co mmunities in the Moja ve Dese rt that inhabit m ore m ine ralo gically a nd
che mically co mplex ro cks and se dim ent. Wha t doe s the a ddition of mo re co mplex
che mistry do to our instrum ents ´ ability to diffe rentiate betw een ge olo gical and biolo gical
co ntributio ns to the chemica l enviro nment?
Ov er a 10- to 14-da y pe rio d during the a ustra l summ er, the refo re, we wil l ta ke
mea sure me nts fo ur ti mes a da y from the ro cks at Ba ttleship P rom ontory i n the Dr y
Valle ys. W e will co mpar e tho se me asure ments w ith the da ta we gathere d from the
endo lithic co mmunities in hot de serts, analy zing the da ta bo th in A nta rctica a nd in o ur
ho me la bo rato rie s. (B –330–M; NSF /N ASA agree me nt, NASA a ward NASA ASTEP –02 –
0040–0014)
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Temporal variability in natural and anthropogenic
disturbance of McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
Mahlo n C . Kennicu tt, Texas A&M University.
Anta rctica repre sents o ne of the mo st ca refully tended a nd strictly mo nitore d habitats on
Ea rth. No t only is i t impo rtant to prote ct the flora , fauna, and a tmosphere o f a re lativ ely
pristine e nv ironme nt, but the extr eme so uthe rn la titudes prov ide a virtual base line
ba rom eter o f global pollutio n. The Antarctic Tr ea ty's P roto col on Env ironme ntal
Pro tectio n, suppl eme nte d by the po licies a nd pra ctices of the natio ns that wo rk the re,
ha ve co mbine d to focus scrutiny on a ny anthropoge nic impacts tha t ca n be fo re se en or
de tected.
We will the re fo re coll ect a se rie s o f obser vatio ns that should e na ble scie nti sts to be mor e
awa re of any such impacts on bo th ma rine and te rre str ial habitats in and a ro und
McMurdo Statio n, lo cating them precise ly and tra cking them o ve r tim e. A n e nv ironme ntal
monito ring pr ogram base d o n a 3 -yea r pilo t pro gram o f sa mpli ng and data a na lysis is
co ntinuing to co llect samples. We will fur the r eva luate the feasibility o f this design a nd
establish point -da ta sampling grids a t v ario us spatia l sca les mea sur ing a ser ies of
attribute s indicativ e of cha nge.
Our objective s a re to dete rmine:
z the spatia l a nd tem po ral scale s o f change and its o rigin,
z ho w e fficie ntly this observ atio na l sy stem docume nts rele va nt changes in
impo rta nt habitat cha ra cte ristics, a nd
z the usefulne ss o f va rio us approa ches to refer ence or contro l lo catio ns.
We will or ga nize the se div erse data se ts into a co he rent, co ordinate d fr ame wor k. The
results should pro vide additiona l fundam ental scientifi c info rma tion fo r de ve loping a
long- te rm stra tegy to do cument and minimize the im pa ct o f future science ( and suppo rt
opera tions) on antar cti c re sources and v alues. (B –518–M; N SF/OP P 03–54573)
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