Award: OPP-1745009

Ocean canyons play disproportionately important roles as biological hotspots and are critical for our understanding of Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) marine ecosystem. To understand the ocean processes that support these persistent hotspots, this project integrated a modeling and field program that targeted the processes responsible for transporting and concentrating phytoplankton and krill biomass to known penguin foraging locations. Within the Palmer Deep canyon, a representative hotspot, our team deployed an integrated set of technologies that, for the first time in this region, simultaneously measured the food web from the oceanography up to the top predators. The integration of the geophysical model with the field study allowed for the rigorous testing of the influence of local concentration of the plankton on top predator foraging ecology that led to new understandings of these persistent ecological hotspots. Project Outcomes: Intellectual Merit In the ocean, food resources are dilute and must be either physically or biologically concentrated for animals. Our study designed and deployed an ocean observatory consisting of small boats, ocean radars, underwater robots, tagged animals, and ocean models near Palmer Deep Canyon in the West Antarctic Peninsula to shed light on how physical ocean processes concentrate food resources for animals in the marine environment. The Palmer Deep Canyon is a biological hotspot supporting numerous top predators including whales, seals, seabirds, and penguins. In our study, we showed that both surface and deep currents independently act to concentrate food resources for animals such as krill and penguins. In addition, we found that some physical processes, such as wind-induced mixing events, disrupt the local food web by creating conditions that are more favorable to gelatinous zooplankton, like salps. The actions of these currents to concentrate food resources for animals may explain why Palmer Deep Canyon is a persistent biological hotspot, and why it might serve as a refuge for polar species in a changing climate. Our findings represent a significant advancement in understanding the physical biological dynamics at an important top predator foraging hotspot in the Southern Ocean. Project Outcomes: Broader Impacts: Our project significantly engaged graduate and undergraduate students in fieldwork and data analysis, fostering diversity in STEM and enhancing scientific literacy. Collaboration with educators from Delaware, New Jersey, and Oregon facilitated the dissemination of findings to classrooms, reaching a broader audience. Specifically, grade appropriate curricula were developed and distributed at the 6-12 grade level that use the physics and biology of Antarctica to teach key scientific principles. Furthermore, initiatives like the 4-H STEM Challenge and the Data to the Rescue Penguins Need Our Help projects utilized data collected on our project to engage youth and educators in polar science education. The collaboration with the Polar Literacy project enhanced public awareness of polar issues, contributing to increased knowledge about polar regions and their global significance. Last Modified: 12/17/2024 Submitted by: JoshKohut