The aim of this project is to quantify the relative trophic position of several main Antarctic marine predators (elephant seals, Weddell seals, Antarctic fur seals and Emperor penguins) via the integration of dietary information into a broader food web structure.

Supervisors:
Assoc/Prof Mark Hindell
Dr Patti Virtue Read More....

The Kergeulen Plateau is an extensive region (~1,100,000 km2), which lies in water between 1000-4000m deep in the southern Indian Ocean.The region supports not only an abundant and diverse fauna, but also a large commercial fishery.
CCAMLR aims to ensure that all species and ecological linkages are maintained in the presence of the fishery. Read More....

This project will investigate the inter-annual differences in Masked boobies (Sula dactylatra) foraging success on the population reproductive performance in relation to the underlaying oceanographic features in the Western Pacific. We will utilize a variety of data loggers to obtain information on adults foraging strategies and study the reproductive success over various breeding seasons Read More....

This study aims to:
1.Use large samples of miniature geolocating light level recorders to record population level information of Antarctic fur seals, to quantify the extent of the use of the winter pack-ice and associated waters. 2.Quantify how winter ice extent influences the location of foraging areas. 3.Models of how changing ice condition in the future will influence these species. Read More....

Quantification of diet is fundamental to understanding of energy flow through food webs, which is vital for ecosystem modelling and fisheries management. However, diet for large marine predators such as southern elephant seals cannot be determined through conventional techniques. We intend to use fatty acid signatures in the blubber to determine prey species composition and consumption rates. Read More....