ScienceFrequently asked questions about the Antarctic Site InventoryWhy are we working in the Antarctic Peninsula? To census penguins and seabirds and to assemble site-specific data and information regarding an assortment of biological and physical variables. The goal is to understand, more precisely, whether environmental changes are occurring and, if so, why they're happening. Importantly, Inventory-collected data and information directly assist the implementation of the landmark Antarctic Environmental Protocol, which was signed in 1991 and has now entered into full force and effect. If changes are detected, Inventory data and information will help provide the basis for management decisions made by Antarctic Treaty countries under the Protocol, which conserve the continent for future generations.
We conduct regular penguin and seabird nest and chick censuses at many sites during each November-to-February breeding season. These censuses are repeated from season-to-season so we may detect any significant population changes. We also generate a wide range of site-descriptive information, including site-specific diversity checklists, orientation maps, and repetitive photodocumentation. Who started the project? The Inventory is organized and managed under the auspices of Oceanites, Inc., a US-based, tax-exempt, nonprofit science and educational foundation. Oceanites was founded in 1987 by Ron Naveen, who also serves as the principal investigator of the Antarctic Site Inventory. November 1994. Primarily in the Antarctic Peninsula. Carefully and rigorously! By using hand-held clickers. Field data are recorded in the researchers' field notebooks. Later, these data are formally entered on a data sheet pertaining to that particular site visit. For penguin chick censuses, the crucial time is the peak of chick-créching. This occurs when penguin chicks are 4-6 weeks of age, leave the area contiguous to their nests, and begin assembling in large groups called créches. To be blunt, because conservation doesn't simply happen in a vacuum. Everywhere - including in Antarctica, assessment and monitoring are the lynchpins of long-term environmental conservation. It makes no difference whether the appropriate management authority is a local environmental agency or the consortium of Antarctic Treaty countries, there needs to be evidence that "things" really are changing. Relevant data and information collected by the Inventory will allow retrospective comparisons and analyses to be made, which in turn illuminate available management options and ultimately, hopefully, will provide a sound basis to justify any management option that is selected. As with all environmental conservation or management, decisions must be based on the best available scientific data and information. Otherwise, whatever is done may, just as easily, be undone. Through February 2010, after 17 full seasons of data collection, Inventory researchers had made 1,156 visits to 142 Antarctic Peninsula locations, including all of the most heavily visited and attractive tourist sites. Yes. The Inventory and its researchers are permitted under the US Antarctic Conservation Act and the environmental aspects of our work are reviewed by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Yes. The Antarctic Conservation Act permit acknowledges that Inventory researchers sometimes need to get very close to wildlife to conduct their censuses. To make useful, retrospective comparisons, do you need to count all penguins at a particular site? Indeed! We strive to obtain site-wide nest (N) and chick © censuses at each of our survey sites. You can tell a colony's productivity by determining how many chicks are produced per active nest. Statistically, that means dividing the number of chicks counted at the peak of chick-crèching by the number of nests counted at the peak of egg-laying. But all eggs don't hatch, many chicks perish (for various reasons), and clearly, all chicks don't ultimately fledge and go to sea. So, with respect to Peninsula penguins, which lay two eggs, a productivity of 2.0 is never realized. There can be wide variations in productivity. In some seasons, a productivity as high as 1.3 or 1.5 is possible. Then again, in some years a site may experience a total crash of penguin chicks, which means a productivity of zero. In general, the Inventory relies upon opportunistic ship visits to examine the physical features, flora, and fauna of the Antarctic Peninsula, including the sites most heavily visited by expedition tourists. Are the data standardized? Yes. We collect all data pursuant to standard methods used throughout the Antarctic, which ensures that all data are statistically meaningful and comparable. Where's the Antarctic Site Inventory maintained? On computers located at the Oceanites home office, the Conservation Biology Lab of Dr. William Fagan at the University of Maryland, and The Lynch Lab of Dr. Heather Lynch at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. If you see the Inventory researchers "in action," what will you notice? If they're engaged in census work, you'll see them deliberately walking, hiking, or climbing around the perimeter of penguin and seabird colonies, then stopping often and counting using hand-held data clickers. Counts are read off of the face of the clickers, then logged, in pencil, into field notebooks. If orientation maps are being developed, the researchers will be pacing a precise course around a study site, using a hand-held GPS (global positing system) device, taking readings all the way. What is done with Inventory-related data and information? They're used in a variety of ways. Especially, for retrospective comparisons and analyses, which help detect changes in Peninsula fauna and flora populations. The results of these comparisons and analyses spur efforts to minimize and avoid any direct, immediate, or long-term impacts from human activities. A population change, for example, would be indicated if there's a significant increase or decrease in the number of active nests over time. If changes are detected, the next - and much more difficult - task is ascertaining whether such changes are naturally occurring or result from some human interaction. Importantly, in collaboration with the Conservation Biology Lab of Dr. William Fagan at the University of Maryland, and The Lynch Lab of Dr. Heather Lynch at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Oceanites intends comprehensive analyses of long-term Antarctic data sets. Oceanites makes all data and information collected by the Antarctic Site Inventory available worldwide, readily and easily, and to all who are interested. Analyses of the Inventory database are intended for publication in scientific papers and referenced in popular publications. Already, Antarctic Treaty countries rely on the Inventory database in their effort to fashion management guidelines for tourism visits to species-diverse, environmentally sensitive locations. Why and how does the Inventory assist long-term conservation of the Antarctic? Because, with data in hand, there are sensible management options available to Antarctic Treaty countries under the Antarctic Environmental Protocol. How does the Treaty work, in general? By consensus. All voting countries must agree to a proposed action, which sometimes means that progress is slow and may require long discussion and debate. After recommendations, site designations, and any Protocol management plans are adopted, they must be implemented by regulations in each "home" country, which apply to that country's nationals. Beginning at the June 2006 Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, the Antarctic Treaty countries began adopting site management guidelines relying upon data and information in Antarctic Site Inventory. Keep in mind that, under the Treaty, everyone is allowed free, peaceful, and respectful access to Antarctica - assuming they can get there safely! But there is no international Antarctic police force. As said, each country must ensure that its nationals abide by the rules and recommendations that the Treaty adopts by consensus. So, essentially, each country is responsible for enacting laws and regulations with respect to the Antarctic activities of its own citizens. Yes. In the vastly warming Antarctic peninsula climate, Gentoo penguin populations have significantly increased, while populations of both Adélie and chinstrap penguins have significantly declined. What about climate change? In the Antarctic Peninsula, it's a reality. Over the last 60 years, the Peninsula has warmed by 5°F. on a year-round basis, in winter by 9°F. What's the relationship of krill and climate to penguins? The mantra is simple: For all biological creatures, including us humans, everything depends on four factors - food, successfully passing genes to future generations, weather, and breeding territory. If all are in synch, a species will survive and flourish. If not, there will be problems. We would trust that you'd consider Oceanites! Why? In short, keeping in mind that assessment and monitoring are vital, a donation to Oceanites and the Antarctic Site Inventory means that you'll be contributing directly to the long-term conservation of the Antarctic. Yes, by US citizens.
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