A5080267680- Marine animal studies overview
- Marine and fisheries research
- Avian ecology and behavior
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics
- Marine and coastal ecosystems
- Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Isotope Analysis in Ecology
- Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies
- Marine and coastal plant biology
- Cephalopods and Marine Biology
- Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Climate variability and models
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses
- Cryospheric studies and observations
- Ocean Waves and Remote Sensing
- Polar Research and Ecology
- Crustacean biology and ecology
- Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research
- Ecosystem dynamics and resilience
- Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
Australian Antarctic Division
2016-2025
University of Tasmania
2015-2024
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
2023-2024
Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre
2019
Institut Municipal d'Assistència Sanitària
2019
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
2018
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Fisheries Science Center
2018
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
2017
Australian Government
2014
UNSW Sydney
2003-2004
Abstract Knowing how many individuals are in a wildlife population allows informed management decisions to be made. Ecologists increasingly using technologies, such as remotely piloted aircraft (RPA; commonly known “drones,” unmanned aerial systems or vehicles), for monitoring applications. Although RPA widely touted cost‐effective way collect high‐quality data, the validity of these claims is unclear. Using life‐sized, replica seabird colonies containing number fake birds, we assessed...
Light-level geolocator tags use ambient light recordings to estimate the whereabouts of an individual over time it carried device. Over past decade, these have emerged as important tool and been used extensively for tracking animal migrations, most commonly small birds. Analysing data can be daunting new experienced scientists alike. decades, several methods with fundamental differences in analytical approach developed cope various caveats often complicated data. Here, we explain concepts...
The reliable estimation of animal location, and its associated error is fundamental to ecology. There are many existing techniques for handling location error, but these often ad hoc or used in isolation from each other. In this study we present a Bayesian framework determining that uses all the data available, flexible tagging techniques, provides estimates with built-in measures uncertainty. methods allow contributions multiple sources be decomposed into manageable components. We...
Satellite telemetry data are a key source of animal distribution information for marine ecosystem management and conservation activities. We used two decades from the East Antarctic sector Southern Ocean. Habitat utilization models spring/summer period were developed six highly abundant, wide‐ranging meso‐ top‐predator species: Adélie Pygoscelis adeliae emperor Aptenodytes forsteri penguins, light‐mantled albatross Phoebetria palpebrata , fur seals Arctocephalus gazella southern elephant...
Abstract Aim The distribution of marine predators is driven by the and abundance their prey; areas preferred multiple predator species should therefore indicate ecological significance. Southern Ocean supports large populations seabirds mammals undergoing rapid environmental change. management conservation these environment relies on understanding its link with biophysical environment, as latter determines prey. We addressed this issue using tracking data from 14 to identify important...
Sea ice is a key habitat in the high latitude Southern Ocean and predicted to change its extent, thickness duration coming decades. The sea-ice cover instrumental mediating ocean–atmosphere exchanges provides an important substrate for organisms from microbes algae predators. Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, reliant on sea during phases of life cycle, particularly larval stages, food refuge their predators, while other small grazers, including copepods amphipods, either live brine channel...
Abstract Aquatic ectotherms often attain smaller body sizes at higher temperatures. By analysing ~15,000 coastal‐reef fish surveys across a 15°C spatial sea surface temperature (SST) gradient, we found that the mean length of in communities decreased by ~5% for each 1°C increase space, or 50% decrease from 14 to 29°C annual SST. Community size change was driven differential responses within trophic groups and temperature‐driven their relative abundance. Herbivores, invertivores planktivores...
Vertical migrations by marine organisms contribute to carbon export consumption of surface phytoplankton followed defecation in the deep ocean. However, biogeochemical models lack observational data, leading oversimplified representation cycling migrating organisms, such as Antarctic krill ( Euphausia superba ). Using a numerical model informed 1 year acoustic observations East Antarctic, we estimated total particulate organic (POC) flux from fecal pellets be 9.68 milligrams per square meter...
Habitat complexity is often used to explain the distribution of species in environments, yet ability predict outcomes structural differences between habitats remains elusive. This stems from difficulty and lack consistency measuring quantifying habitat structure, making comparison different systems problematic. For any measure structure be useful it needs applicable a range have relevance their associated fauna. We measured three differently‐shaped macrophyte analogues with nine indices...
A simple modification to the standard Newton method for approximating root of a univariate function is described and analyzed. For same number derivative evaluations, modified converges faster, with convergence order being 1+2≈2.4 compared 2 method. Numerical examples demonstrate faster achieved this Newton's This Newton–Raphson relatively robust; it more likely converge solution than are either higher (4th 6th order) schemes or itself.
Knowledge of long-term and multi-scale trends in ecological systems is a vital component understanding their dynamics. We used Landsat satellite imagery to develop the first (1986-2015) data set describing cover dense surface canopies giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera around entire coastline Tasmania, Australia, assessed extent which potential environmental drivers explain dynamics at multiple spatial temporal scales. Broad-scale patterns canopy are correlated with El Niño-Southern Oscillation...
Qualitative network analyses provide a broad range of advantages for formulating ideas and testing understanding ecosystem function, exploring feedback dynamics, making qualitative predictions in cases where data are limited. They have been applied to wide ecological questions, including exploration the implications uncertainty about fundamental system structure. However, we argue that questions regarding model under‐explored, there is need coherent framework evaluating uncertainty. To...
Abstract Ocean climate extremes have received little treatment in the literature, aside from coastal sea level and temperatures affecting coral bleaching. Further, it is notable that (e.g., temperature precipitation) are typically not well represented global models. Here, authors improve dynamically downscaled ocean model estimates of surface (SST) Tasman Sea off southeastern Australia using satellite remotely sensed observed extreme SSTs simulated marine 1990s. This achieved a Bayesian...
Understanding divergent biological responses to climate change is important for predicting ecosystem level consequences. We use species habitat models predict the winter foraging habitats of female southern elephant seals and investigate how changes in environmental variables within these may be related observed decreases Macquarie Island population. There were three main groups that specialized different ocean realms (the sub-Antarctic, Ross Sea Victoria Land Coast). The physical attributes...
Abstract The Retrospective Analysis of Antarctic Tracking Data (RAATD) is a Scientific Committee for Research project led jointly by the Expert Groups on Birds and Marine Mammals Biodiversity Informatics, endorsed Commission Conservation Living Resources. RAATD consolidated tracking data multiple species meso- top-predators to identify Areas Ecological Significance. These datasets accompanying syntheses provide greater understanding fundamental ecosystem processes in Southern Ocean, support...
Abstract. The Antarctic marginal ice zone (MIZ) is a highly dynamic region where sea interacts with ocean surface waves generated in ice-free areas of the Southern Ocean. Improved large-scale (satellite-based) estimates MIZ extent and variability are crucial for understanding atmosphere–ice–ocean interactions biological processes detection change therein. Legacy methods defining typically based on concentration thresholds do not directly relate to fundamental physical driving variability. To...
Research Article| February 01, 2005 Minimal Antarctic sea ice during the Pliocene J.M. Whitehead; Whitehead 1Department of Geology, University Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0340, USA, and Institute Southern Ocean Studies, Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7005, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar S. Wotherspoon; Wotherspoon 2School Mathematics Physics, S.M. Bohaty 3Earth Sciences Department, California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA Author Article...
Abstract We examined the relationships between physical oceanography (sea surface temperature – SST, sea height anomaly SSH, ocean colour OC, bathymetry BA, sea-ice concentration SI, and their associated gradients) foraging distribution (time at sea) of female southern elephant seals using generalized linear additive models (GLM GAM). Using data from 28 separate trips (22 unique individuals) over two years, we found that during post-lactation (summer), best GLM demonstrated a negative...
Abstract Here we argue that there are two important steps in the decision process to restore ecological system often ignored. First, consideration of restoration is response observed change a system, but systems can fluctuate widely their normal dynamic. Thus, an imperative interpret change; shifts community structure represent “typical” fluctuations properly functioning ecosystem do not warrant restoration, while associated with phase shift may well demand action. Second, where effort...
Abstract Ecologists are increasingly using technology to improve the quality of data collected on wildlife, particularly for assessing environmental impacts human activities. Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS; commonly known as ‘drones’) widely touted a cost-effective way collect high wildlife population data, however, validity these claims is unclear. Using life-sized seabird colonies containing number replica birds, we show that RPAS-derived are, average, between 43% and 96% more...