Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Annual Review 2012

AEBAR 2012: Appendices: Past projects
BIODIVERSITY continued
Project Code Project Title Specific Objectives Status Citation/s
ZBD2005-01 Balleny Islands Ecology
Research, Tiama Voyage
(2006)
1. To characterise shallow benthic communities across a range of habitat
settings around the Balleny Islands, utilising a range of data collection
methodologies (including SCUBA-based rock-wall suspension feeder photo
quadrats, SCUBA-based linear video transects, and drop camera photography),
and to analyse community patterns with reference to possible
physical/oceanographic, biological, and/or biogeographic influences on
community structure.
2. To characterise aspects of the marine food web of the Balleny Islands area,
using stable isotope analysis of specimens from important functional groups, and
to make inferences about factors affecting ecosystem-scale trophodynamics in
the Balleny Islands area and potential implications for the function of the wider
ecosystem.
3. To characterise the spatial and temporal distributions of higher-level consumer
species (birds, seals and whales) and of dominant pelagic prey (i.e. krill swarms)
by opportunistically recording all at-sea sightings, and by systematic observation
of landbased top predators (birds and seals) while sailing along the coast of the
islands.
4. To collect and photograph and/or retain fish specimens from shallow benthic
environments using a range of fishing methods, including food-baited fish traps,
lightbaited fish traps, rotenone sampling, and/or baited lines.
5. To continuously collect bathymetric data and water-column acoustic data (i.e.
mesopelagic acoustic marks) throughout the voyage, using an acoustic sounder.
6. To opportunistically collect a variety of data/materials during shore-based
landings, including wherever possible: i) breast feathers from living penguins; ii)
tissue samples/feathers/bones from dead seals/penguins/other sea birds; iii) seal
scats; iv) visual estimates of adult and juvenile penguin numbers; v) visual
assessments of penguin colony status; vi) photographs of penguin colonies; vii)
sediment excavations of occupied and abandoned colonies. (Where appropriate
these data will contribute to Objective 2).
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Terminated Smith 2006