Antarctica(lecture 24)

Question 1

Antarctica

Answer 1

• large system with profound influence on the rest of the world
• want to see below the ice
• exciting in terms of science
• a lot of communication
• 14 million km 2 (1.8x size of Australia)
• low energy input from the sun
• constrains what can live there

Question 2

Antarctica treaty

Answer 2

• international agreement

- only conservation and scientific research can be done

Question 3

3 bases in Australia

Answer 3

• Mawson station
• Davis station
• Casey station
• Australia has large claim of territory
• Macquarie Island-National Park in Tasmania

Question 4

Challenging studying in Australia

Answer 4

• remote and extreme weather
• use fossil fuels for stations
• need electricians, diesel mechanics, doctors alongside the researchers
• live humbly
• live in apples for a couple of months on top of each other
• psychological testing to make sure you will not lose it in Antartica

Question 5

Antarctica transportation

Answer 5

• no air bases
• travel with ships
• more and more tourist ships stuck in ice
• get around helicopter that you bring with you on the ship
• multiple helicopter trips to move gear from ship to base

Question 6

Getting around Antarctica

Answer 6

• use snow mobiles and 4 wheels
• use skies when getting close to base
• use to use dogs to get around
• now sue quad bikes

Question 7

Impacts of the environment on the animals

Answer 7

-cold (-49 degrees celcius) + wind chill
-high-mean sheet depth:2 km; mean elevation 2300m
-closed system due to Antarctic convergence (water just circulates in a circle)
-very dry due to water being locked up in ice
(animals need water)
-shortage of rocks for animals to nest on
-nest closer to the coast on rocks (decline in seabirds due to leftover waste -predators would eat the rubbish and prey on smaller birds)

Question 8

vertebrates

Answer 8

• not strictly terrestrial invertebrates in Antarctica
• fish can survive the cold water
• temp means that there is no food for amphibians and reptiles
• very low energy, biomass, and invertebrates

Question 9

birds

Answer 9

• a lot of them
• 43 species
• all sea birds
• rely on n the ocean for food
• simple food chain
• skuas: key predatory/scavnger on land
• eats smaller birds, chicks, and eggs

Question 10

mammals

Answer 10

• all marine
• rely on the sea for food
• 19 species
• whales and seals are the only mammals
• 7 seal species
• leopard seal top order predator
• important part of the ecosystem
• carnivore teeth
• fierce predator
• 12 whale species

Question 11

whales

Answer 11

orcas

• toothless whales
• top order predator
• eat seals and penguins
• change hunting strategy depending on where they are
• flip tail which causes?
• incredible communication and coordination
• very intelligent
• baleen
• humpback and blue whale
• feed on krill

Question 12

food base

Answer 12

• zooplankton (krill)
• cephalopods
• fish

Question 13

krill

Answer 13

• underspends the food chain in Antarctica
• patchy, but where it is it is abundant
• harvested in the southern ocean

Question 14

seals

Answer 14

-eat cephalopods, fish, and krill

Question 15

subantartic

Answer 15

• heard island
• big ben-largest Australian mountain, but long
• active volcano
• a lot of animals on it
• feed on the ocean
• 7 species of seals
• 34 sea birds

Question 16

Macquarine Island

Answer 16

• locayed in the sub-antarctic
• long and narrow
• formed by two oceanic plates rubbing together
• long history of disturbance
• knock down fur seal, elephant seal, and
• outside of the convergence
• very wet and windy
• 1 to 9 degrees celsius
• not to bad
• steep coastal slope
• rabbits were exploding
• rapid control mechanism using cats and dogs
• freshwater lakes on plateaus, but no fish because they cannot colonize the island

Question 17

Fur seal

Answer 17

-pale face
-main point:sexual dimorphism
-seals
female:40 kilo
male: