Fur seals are closely related to sea lions. They are not true seals like the elephant seal or weddell seals. True seals have ears that are hard to see, but fur seals and sea lions have ears that are clearly visible by ear flaps. Fur seals are also much faster on land and can walk on all fours, whereas a true seal kind of scoots forward, almost reminding me of how a caterpillar moves, and hence are way slower.

Over 100 years ago, humans hunted these seals for their fur - in fact, so much so that they almost drove them to extinction. Fortunately, the populations have rebounded, but in some places such as Cape Shirreff, they are declining once again. Again, the decline is caused by humans, but indirectly through climate change rather than hunting. For example, there is less food (krill) available in warmer ocean waters. The Antarctic ecosystem , especially along the Antarctic Peninsula has undergone some dramatic changes in the last few decades. Life here is closely connected to sea ice, so any changes to sea ice and ocean temperatures will affect how the ecosystem functions.

The Southern Elephant Seal - they have big smiles when they sleep. They are almost half larger than their northern counterparts (the northern elephant seals), which can be found along the coast from Alaska to Mexico. Indeed, the Southern elephant seal in the Subantarctic and Antarctica is a true giant of the ocean, the next largest mammal after cetaceans (i.e., whales, dolphins and porpoises). 

These seals are smelly! In addition, they are quite loud and they certainly showcase their repertoire of burps, farts, sneezes and snores. In fact, many a time while we are measuring plants on Litchfield, we often have to say "Excuse you!", because they certainly won't apologize for their behavior!  😁

Crabeater seals, which we fondly call "Crabbies", are another seal species that are truly an Antarctic species. They are found all along the Antarctic coast. There are fewer on the warmer parts of Antarctica, so fewer around Palmer Station than in continental Antarctica. They love to lounge on pack ice and ice floes (like the one shown here). They can be recognized by their long snouts and light fur.

Do they eat crab? Absolutely not. They eat mostly Antarctic krill. The crabeaters have remarkable teeth that acts as a strainer to keep krill inside their mouths while water can leave (think about how a strainer works for pasta!). They are the most abundant seal species in the world.

It's hard to believe that these gentle seals are closely related to the leopard seal!

Weddell seals are the southernmost mammal! These incredible animals can dive hundreds of meters deep and stay underwater for a maximum of 1.5 hours! They make the most amazing sounds - kind of laser like! You just need to put an ear on the ice to hear them. Curious? Please click here for an example:
https://www.antarctica.gov.au/site/assets/files/60740/call2.mp3

Weddell moms make milk that is fatty: over half of the milk is fat! That is so the pups can grow fast. The mom will barely hunt while feeding their pups. She will lose about a third of her weight by the end of the feeding period. Not only that, but the mother seal will provide a lot of iron to her pup - iron that she herself would need for diving (iron is important for hemoglobin - the oxygen provider in blood). With less iron, she can no longer dive as deep. Fortunately, by the time she can hunt again, their main food item, Antarctic krill, will be more abundant and at shallower depths. There will be more krill then, because their own food, phytoplankton (microscopic "plants"), will have had time to grow during the summer when light and temperatures are highest. So, the timing of higher krill abundance is great for the seals - The question is: how will climate change affect it? That is one of the many questions that Dr. Jenn Burns studies - our Chair of the Texas Tech Department of Biological Sciences. 

Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting some of the bright young students of St. Edmundsbury Church of England Primary School. One of many questions I was asked was by the USA Class: "How long have you been a scientist". Initially I answered that it was after I graduated from college, but that is not true - that was when I started to get paid as a scientist, but I was a scientist way before then. It didn't hit me until later, when I thought long and hard about that question. I believe that as kids when we start to learn about the world around us, ask questions, especially the "why" questions, we are already scientists! Many people lose that curiosity over time, but scientists retain that. 

Growing up, I wanted to learn more about forests and the animals, how the soil I stepped on looked like if we were to dig into it. As a kid I received my education through personal experience (long walks in the woods with our dog Sasha, making personal observations) or through nature documentaries, and asking lots and lots of questions of people around me. 

So, when did I become a scientist? The answer: I never stopped being one.

On Monday February 20 I will be having a Zoom session with a school (or more?) in the UK. I am so excited to share with them the journey, the science and what it's like to be here. One thing is for sure: there is unparalleled beauty right here from station as shown in the above photos. I very much appreciate being here, to be doing science, to be part of the Palmer Station community, and to be surrounded by the majesty of the landscape.

The cute "tuxedo" penguins, the Adélies, were the only penguin species in the Palmer Station area in the early 1970s. Large areas of Antarctica, though far away, has unfortunately also suffered from rapid warming. Adélies are an ice-dependent species, but sea ice is not as thick anymore nor does it last as long as it used to. This means that other species of penguins that are not dependent on the ice are able to get established. It was the early 1990s when a different species of penguins, one from a warmer climate, were first sighted: the gentoo penguins. Now the gentoos have increased in numbers dramatically, while the populations of Adélies have decreased by 90% or more. In fact, gentoo penguins now outnumber the Adelies - a staggering shift in penguin species in the Palmer Station area! Adélies truly are the harbingers of change.

Researchers, such as Dr. Megan Cimino and her team, Darren and Megan Roberts, study where penguins hunt for food, the types of food they eat, how many of the chicks survive to the fledgling stage (i.e., "teenagers"), and much more. Much of the work is part of a study that has been ongoing since the 1970s! Though there are lots of data, new tools opens up ways to answer new research questions (e.g., use of robots to find krill - the main source of food for penguins). Very cool work (pun intended!).

Photos feature the "teenage" penguins, some still losing their chick down coat in interesting patterns (e.g., see "crop top" penguin. :)

This post is waaaay overdue! Earlier in the season we were lucky to be surrounded by many whales. I finally was able to use my nice telephoto camera to get these shots. Whales are wonderful, smart mammals that learn from each other. For instance, these whales have learned how to create "bubble nets" in the water to hunt for krill. What is a bubble net? Imagine they swim in a circle beneath the surface while creating bubbles through their blowholes  (i.e. their nose) on the top of their head, and then those bubbles rise up to the surface. Krill can get caught within that circular screen of bubbles.  Now, the pattern is are actually more spiral-shaped, but there are many other bubble net shapes also!

The humpback whales near station seem to do hunt using the bubble nets, but not all whales do!  A research team on station (Ross, Jenny, Ariana, Logan) are studying the whales here, their behavior (such as bubblenet feeding), how related they are and their overall health. Pretty neat!

All samples (including those collected on February 6) will be sent back to the US for a lab temperature experiment. Based on our field warming experiment (with the open-top chambers), we know that soil microbial activity is affected by warming. The lab experiment can help address who is responding the most (or least) to warming! We use a method called quantitative stable isotope probing (or qSIP for short), whereby we can assess how fast (or slow) microbes grow based on how heavy their DNA gets.

Thank you Keri and Doc Joe for helping Soil Team 6 (Sara and I) collect samples for a cool (haha, pun intended) lab experiment.

The Wilson's storm-petrel is a small seabird, about the size of an American robin (or the blackbird in Europe). What I love about these agile birds is that their feet pitter-patter on the ocean surface to find food - they are like graceful "dancers". I never tire of watching these pretty little birds.