A GPS survey of seabirds on Heard Island during the Australian Antarctic Program's 2003/04 expedition. This layer is stored as two datasets (point and polygon) in the Geographical Information System (GIS). Data represent flying bird and penguin colony extents and nesting sites.

A GPS survey of seabirds on Heard Island during the Australian Antarctic Program's 2000/01 expedition. This layer is stored as two datasets (polygon and point) in the Geographical Information System (GIS). Polygon data represent flying bird and penguin colony extents. Point data represent nest locations and the location of the observation point for flying birds and penguins.

Underwater footage was taken with a Sony digital Handycam mounted in a pressure case on a roll cage, and then trawled off the back of the Aurora Australis. The footage was taken primarily of benthic habitats, and was done on an opportunistic basis, rather than part of a systematic trawling survey. Most of the footage was taken within the Heard Island Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), but some footage was also taken between Mawson and Davis off the Antarctic continent. Footage of both areas (highlights of Heard Island, and of Prydz Bay) are available at the provided URL. The footage was collected by: Tony Veness Bryan Scott Andrew Tabor Kelvin Cope Andrew Cawthorn Stuart Crapper

This database is a compendium of histories of known age seals (Weddell and Southern elephant) from observations across the Southern Ocean but focussed on Macquarie Island, Marion Island, Heard Island, Mawson and the Vestfold Hills. At Macquarie Island 1000 seals were weighed per annum between 1993-2003 at birth and individually marked with two plastic flipper tags in the inter-digital webbing of their hind flippers. These tagged seals were weighed again at weaning, when length, girth, fat depth, and flipper measurements were made. Three weeks after weaning 2000 seals were permanently and individually marked by hot-iron branding. Recaptures and re-weighings of these known aged individuals were used to calculate growth and age-specific survival of the seals. Similar data were collected from elephant seals between 1950 and 1965 when seals were individually marked by hot-iron branding. Mark-recapture data from these cohorts were used to assess the demography of the declining population. Length and mass data were also collected for these cohorts and were used, for the first time, to assess the growth of individual seals without killing them. At Marion Island all the elephant seals have been individually marked with two plastic flipper tags in their rear flippers. Recaptures of these seals were used to compare survival at Marion and Macquarie Islands. At Heard Island, seals were branded between 1949-1953. Seal length was measured in feet and inches. Recaptures of seals were made up until 1955, and growth and age-specific survival was calculated. Survival data from Heard Island were compared with concurrent data from Macquarie Island. The database was held by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre, but was taken offline due to maintenance problems. A snapshot of the database was taken in June 2018 and stored in an access database. This work was completed as part of ASAC project 90.

This database is a compendium of histories of known age seals (Southern elephant) from observations across the Southern Ocean but focussed on Macquarie Island, Marion Island, Heard Island, Mawson and the Vestfold Hills. At Macquarie Island 1000 seals were weighed per annum between 1993-2003 at birth and individually marked with two plastic flipper tags in the inter-digital webbing of their hind flippers. These tagged seals were weighed again at weaning, when length, girth, fat depth, and flipper measurements were made. Three weeks after weaning 2000 seals were permanently and individually marked by hot-iron branding. Recaptures and re-weighings of these known aged individuals were used to calculate growth and age-specific survival of the seals. Similar data were collected from elephant seals between 1950 and 1965 when seals were individually marked by hot-iron branding. Mark-recapture data from these cohorts were used to assess the demography of the declining population. Length and mass data were also collected for these cohorts and were used, for the first time, to assess the growth of individual seals without killing them. At Marion Island all the elephant seals have been individually marked with two plastic flipper tags in their rear flippers. Recaptures of these seals were used to compare survival at Marion and Macquarie Islands. At Heard Island, seals were branded between 1949-1953. Seal length was measured in feet and inches. Recaptures of seals were made up until 1955, and growth and age-specific survival was calculated. Survival data from Heard Island were compared with concurrent data from Macquarie Island. The database was held by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre, but was taken offline due to maintenance problems. A snapshot of the database was taken in January 2015 and stored in an access database and several csv files. This work was completed as part of ASAC project 90.

Surveys were conducted at the eastern and western ends of Heard Island during the 1987/1988 season. Burrow densities in different habitat types (vegetated and unvegetated) were determined from fixed width transects. Extensive areas at both ends of the island were surveyed and detailed information was obtained on distribution and abundance on 4 species of burrowing petrels. This work was completed as part of ASAC project 451 (ASAC_451). This work also falls under the umbrella project, ASAC 1219 (ASAC_1219).

This layer is stored as two datasets (point and polygon)in the Geographical Information System (GIS). Points represent landing areas, mammal, flying bird and penguin data. Polygons represent the horizontal flight limits of helicopters and areas set aside for specific management purposes.

The breeding population of the black-browed albatross Thalassarche melanophrys has increased at Heard Island since the first census data were obtained in 1947/1948. Four breeding localities are known, and all populations have increased in the period 1947/1948-2000/2001. The breeding population is estimated to have been approximately 200 pairs in 1947/1948. Based on 2000/2001 census data, the population has increased to a minimum of approximately 600 pairs over the 53 years. Two mechanisms, that of increased prey availability through scavenging discards from trawlers operating within their foraging range, and climatic amelioration, are proposed as hypotheses for this increase. The fields in this dataset are: Season Dates Location Numbers Nests Adults Chicks

---- Public Summary from Project ---- Heard Island offers scientists a unique subantarctic laboratory for investigating climate change. We will establish a reference set of microalgal floras from lakes and lagoons and ultimately use the microalgal floras of today to investigate changes in fossil microalgal communities of Heard Island lake and lagoonal ecosystems to better understand regional subantarctic climate changes. Sediments were sampled with hand corers. Water samples were collected with a Niskin bottle. The dataset contains a summary of the locations data were sampled from, as well as average isotope concentrations from each sampling location. The fields in this dataset are: Date Location Salinity pH GPS Isotopes Concentration (ppb)

The snapshot (originally produced on CD for a conference) was produced by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre for distribution to Heard Island expeditioners in the 2003/2004 season. The snapshot contained all publicly available data held by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre related to Heard Island at the time of production. The snapshot also contained all metadata held by the AADC at the time of production. Furthermore, information is also included from: AADC's gazetteer biodiversity database satellite image archive gis shapefiles heard island wilderness reserve management plan Finally, freely available software needed to browse some of the data are also included.