Dr P Trathan, Dr A Bates, Dr I Staniland, Dr J Jackson
No more applications being accepted
Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)
About the Project
In the Southern Hemisphere, intense exploitation of marine mammals occurred over two centuries, with whale and seal species depleted to low levels. Now, over 40 years after whaling and sealing ceased, populations of right, humpback, blue, fin and sei whales are slowly increasing, while fur seals have recovered. In the high latitudes, whales feed predominantly on Antarctic krill, along with seals, penguins and fish. Habitat use by seals and penguins highlight the central role of inter-frontal regions for these species. However similar analyses of whale habitat use have been limited, as few systematic sighting surveys have been carried out [Reilly et al. 2004]. Understanding how whale catches and current sightings relate to habitat characteristics in the South Atlantic will fill a significant research gap for the largest krill consumers in the ecosystem. This project will integrate seasonal distribution and tracking data from Antarctic fur seals, penguins and krill-feeding fish with available whale catch and sightings data, to understand which oceanographic characteristics are most important, and where the most significant inter-species overlap regions occur. This research will inform existing Marine Protected Areas management at South Georgia and more broadly management of the Scotia Sea Antarctic krill fishery [Reilly et al. 2004].
Habitat use analyses will include a broad range of methodologies [e.g. GAMs, MaxEnt, Brownian Bridge, regression trees etc] appropriate for each species and data collection method [see Zerbini et al. 2015; Raymond et al. 2014]. For whales, we will make use of a newly released, spatially resolved catch dataset for 20th century whaling that now includes hitherto unavailable whaling records from the former Soviet Union. Whale data will also include pre-modern whaling logbook sightings for right and humpbacks, and sightings survey data [available through a range of stakeholders including the South Georgia Museum]. A key issue will be to model modern and historical whale data separately, so that we can determine whether modern habitat use corresponds to reported historical distributions. BAS holds extensive data repositories of seal and penguin tracking data, diet data and population data, as well as an extensive dataset on the abundance and distribution of demersal krill-eating fish. Other fisheries catch data will be available through the South Georgia Government. Our initial plan will be to develop appropriate habitat models for each species, and then to explore overlap between all krill-eating species.
The student will benefit from the participation of a team of marine predator scientists, with extensive knowledge about many of the key higher-trophic level taxa that inhabit the Scotia Sea, and in particular, krill-eating species. The student will also benefit from the broad scientific view obtained from other taxonomic specialists and oceanographic scientists working in BAS and NOCS. The student will therefore be exposed to a very broad inter-disciplinary team. In addition, the supervisory team includes the necessary statistical expertise. Beyond the exchanges associated with SPITFIRE we anticipate the student will travel to the US to work with collaborators in Seattle. Members of the supervisory team also have strong links with policy makers at South Georgia, and more widely for the Antarctic, so the research will help contribute to UK objectives in the South Atlantic and UK Overseas Territories.
Funding Notes
The SPITFIRE DTP programme provides comprehensive personal and professional development training alongside extensive opportunities for students to expand their multi-disciplinary outlook through interactions with a wide network of academic, research and industrial/policy partners. The student will be registered at the University of Southampton and hosted at Ocean and Earth Science.
References
Raymond, B. et al. Important marine habitat off east Antarctica revealed by two decades of multi-species predator tracking. Ecography 37, 1-9 (2014).
2 Reilly, S. et al. Biomass and energy transfer to baleen whales in the South Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. Deep-Sea Res. Part II-Top. Stud. Oceanogr. 51, 1397-1409 (2004).
3 Zerbini, A. N. et al. Baleen whale abundance and distribution in relation to environmental variables and prey density in the Eastern Bering Sea. Deep Sea Res. (II Top. Stud. Oceanogr.), doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.11.002 (2016).