A report completed as part of this project is available for download from the URL given below. Extracts of the report are presented in the metadata record. See the report for full details. Several species of Antarctic fish were collected from the shallow waters off Davis Station during the 2000-01 season as part of a study examining the properties of 'antifreeze' proteins contained within the blood of these animals. Fish were sampled at regular intervals from a range of depths and various sites near the station. The main objectives of the study were to collect serum and selected tissues from Nototheniid (cod) and Channichthyid (ice fish) species. Over 170 fish were collected throughout the calendar year. Samples were taken as required, processed and the fish preserved for further analysis on return to Australia. In Australia the serum will be tested for special antifreeze molecules that allow these animals to live in water that is colder than the usual freezing point of their body fluids. Such molecules, once identified, may be synthesised in a laboratory, and have numerous potential practical applications, from the preservation of frozen foods, to preservation of blood plasma and organs for human transplant. Analyses of this nature will be undertaken at the University of Sydney.

This dataset gives an overview of the fish (larvae) caught in the RMT 8+1 (Rectangular Midwater Trawl composed of nets with an 8 square metre and 1 square metre net opening surface area respectivly). For correct deployment procedure please see the'krill catches' document available for download at the URL given below. Columns 'sheet' : 'Samples' Station number: Station number as attributed by Krill group Trawl type: Routine or Target Trawl Start Latitude: Latitudinal position at start of trawl (decimal notation) Start Longitude: Longitudinal position at start of trawl (decimal notation) Start Date: Date at the start of the trawl Start Time: Time (UTC) at start of the trawl End Latitude: Latitudinal position at end of trawl (decimal notation) End Longitude: Longitudinal position at end of trawl (decimal notation) End Date: Date at the end of the trawl End Time: Time (UTC) at the end of the trawl Net Size: Size of the net from which the sample was collected Sample number: Individual Sample code as Used by anton van de Putte Bar Code: bar code as used by AAD Family: Taxonomic family to which the sample belongs Species: Name of species Species short: abbrivation of speciesname, format Genus species==Gen_spe example Electrona antarctica=Ele_ant SL:Standarlength of the specimen (mm) TL: Total length of the specimen (mm) Preservation: preservaion method of sample: Ethanol (sample stored in 100% ethanol), Formalin (sample stored in 4% formalin solution) -80 degrees (sample stored in deep frezer at -80 degrees C). This work was completed as part of ASAC projects 2655 and 2679 (ASAC_2655, ASAC_2679).

Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 465 See the link below for public details on this project. From the abstracts of the referenced papers: ############# The diet composition of King penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus at Heard Island (53deg 05S; 73 deg 30E) was determined from stomach contents of 98 adults captured as they returned to the island throughout 1992. During the two growth seasons, the diet was dominated by the myctophid fish Krefftichthys anderssoni (94 % by number, 48 % by mass). The paralepidid fish Magnisudis prionosa contributed less than 1 % by numbers but 17 % by mass. Mackerel icefish Champsocephalus gunnari accounted for 17 % by mass of chick diet in late winter, when chicks were malnourished and prone to starvation, although its annual contribution to the penguins diet was only 3 %. Squid was consumed only between April and August; Martialia hyadesi was the commonest squid taken, comprising 40 to 48 % of the winter diet. The remainder of the diet consisted of the squid Moroteuthis ingens and fish other than K. anderssoni. The energy content of the diet mix fed to the chicks varied seasonally being highest during the growth seasons (7.83 plus or minus 0.25 kJ.g-1) and lowest in winter (6.58 plus or minus 0.19 kJ.g-1). From energetic experiments we estimated that an adult penguin consumed 300 kg of food each of which its chick received 55 kg during the 1992 season. The chicks received large meals at the beginning of winter (1.2 plus or minus 0.3 kg) and during the middle of the second growth season (1.2 plus or minus 0.3 kg), and their smallest meals in late winter (0.4 plus or minus 0.1 kg). The gross energy required to rear a King penguin chick was estimated to be 724 MJ. The potential impact of commercial fisheries on the breeding activities of King penguins is discussed. ############# 23 king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) from Macquarie Island were tracked by satellite during the late incubation period in 1998-1999 to determine the overlap in the foraging zone of king penguins with an area to be declared a marine protected area (MPA) near the island. While all penguins left the colony in an easterly direction and travelled clockwise back to the island, three penguins foraged in the northern parts of the general foraging area and stayed north of 56 south. The remaining 20 penguins ventured south and most crossed 59 south before returning to the island. The total foraging area was estimated to be 156,000 square kilometres with 36,500 square kilometres being most important (where penguins spend greater than 150 hours in total). North-foraging penguins reached on average 331 plus or minus 24 kilometres from the colony compared to 530 plus or minus 76 kilometres for the south-foraging penguins. The latter travelled an average total distance of 1313 p lus or minus 176 kilometres, while the northern foragers averaged 963 plus or minus 166 kilometres. Not only did the penguins spend the majority of their foraging time within the boundaries of the proposed MPA, they also foraged chiefly within the boundaries of a highly protected zone. Thus, the MPA is likely to encompass the foraging zone of king penguins, at least during incubation. ############# The foraging strategies of king penguins from Heard and Macquarie islands were compared using satellite telemetry, time-depth recorders and diet samples. Trip durations were 16.8 plus or minus 3.6 days and 14.8 plus or minus 4.1 days at Macquarie and Heard islands, respectively. At Macquarie Island, total distances travelled were 1281 plus or minus 203 km compared to 1425 plus or minus 516 km at Heard Island. The total time the penguins spent at sea was 393 plus or minus 66 h at Macquarie Island and 369 plus or minus 108 h at Heard Island. The penguins from Macquarie Island performed more deep dives than those from Heard Island. King penguins from Macquarie Island travelled 1.5 plus or minus 0.2 km h-1 day-1 compared to 1.3 plus or minus 0.1 km h-1 day-1. At Macquarie Island, 19% of dives were up to 70-90 m depth compared to 35% at Heard Island. The main dietary prey species were the fish Krefftychthis anderssoni and the squid Moroteuthis ingens in both groups. The differences in the at-sea distribution and the foraging behaviour of the two groups of penguins were possibly related to differences in oceanography and bathymetric conditions around the two islands. Dietary differences may be due to interannual variability in prey availability since the two colonies were studied during incubation but in different years. ############# Nearly 36,000 vertical temperature profiles collected by 15 king penguins are used to map oceanographic fronts south of New Zealand. There is good correspondence between Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) front locations derived from temperatures sampled in the upper 150m along the penguin tracks and front positions inferred using maps of sea surface height (SSH). Mesoscale features detected in the SSH maps from this eddy-rich region are also reproduced in the individual temperature sections based on dive data. The foraging strategy of Macquarie Island king penguins appears to be influenced strongly by oceanographic structure: almost all the penguin dives are confined to the region close to and between the northern and southern branches of the Polar Front. Surface chlorophyll distributions also reflect the influence of the ACC fronts, with the northern branch of the Polar Front marking a boundary between low surface chlorophyll to the north and elevated values to the south. #############

Taken from the biology report for Davis Station, 1982, prepared by Mark Tucker. A hardcopy of the report and field books are available in the Australian Antarctic Division library, and pdf copies of the report and field books are available for download at the provided URLs. Introduction The year biology programme for the 1982 season was divided amongst three persons into Phytoplankton, Chlorophyll, Invertebrates and Fish. As the zoologist, I will therefore concentrate on the animal, aspect. The aims of this programme as outlined in the ARPAC approved "A survey of the inshore marine area of Davis" are: 1) A systematic investigation to determine the flora and fauna of the marine inshore environment. 2) To explain their distribution and abundance in response to environmental variables. The first aim can be divided into two categories: 1) Wide range collection of the benthic, planktonic, pelagic and epontic faunas from the inshore waters of the Vestfold Hills. 2) Quantitative examination of the seasonal and distributional changes of the more common species. Most of the wide range collecting of the benthos and to a certain extent the plankton was carried out over the 81/81 summer. Collections were made from as far north as the Wyatt Earp islands and in the south near the Sorsdal Glacier. As wide a coverage as possible of the Vestfolds was made plus a visit to the Rauer group on one occasion. The planktonic fauna was collected throughout the year on a monthly basis from three sites from January 82 to December 82 while the pelagic and epontic faunas were collected monthly from the same sites after fast ice formation - April to December. Additions were made to the benthic collections throughout the year if any previously uncollected or interesting specimens were observed. These collections have culminated in over 150 species. I would expect the total number of different species to be around 200 once all are identified. Representatives of all the species collected will be returned to Biology, Kingston, for reference for future workers in the marine invertebrate field. The second aim, the quantitative examination, was carried out over a 12 month period from January 82 to December 82 at three sites - A, B and C (figure 1). These sites were selected on the criteria of depth, proximity to Davis and most importantly sediment types. Site A is 9m deep with a sandy bottom and a few odd rocks. It has a relatively low (5% or less) macrophytic cover. Site B is 20m deep with a mud bottom and zero macrophytes while site C is 15m deep with a rocky bottom and scattered pockets of sand and shell fragments etc. and 5-10% macrophyte cover. Sites A and B are relatively flat while C is situated on quite a steep slope. Sediment samples have been retained from each site to enable particle size analysis for more accurate descriptions of the sediment types. Several zooplankton, sediment inhabiting and macroscopic benthic species were monitored on a monthly basis for the year. Fish were sampled at sites A and C while the epontic community was sampled after ice formation at all three sites. The environmental variables measured were ice and snow thickness, tide, hours of daylight, salinity, nutrients, water temperature plus chlorophyll data and phytoplankton numbers. These variables are to be used in statistical analysis as a means of explaining the abundance and distribution of the species studied.