Collaborative Research: Common Environmental Drivers Determine the Occupation Chronology of Adélie Penguins and Moss Peatbanks on the Western Antarctic Peninsula

This award is funded in whole or part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). Part I: Non-technical description: Adélie penguin colonies are declining and disappearing from the western Antarctic Peninsula. However, not all colonies in a certain area decline or disappear at the same rate. This research project will evaluate the influence of terrestrial surface properties on Adélie penguin colonies, leveraging five decades of research on seabirds near Palmer Station where an Adélie colony on Litchfield Island became extinct in 2007 while other colonies nearby are still present. The researchers will combine information obtained from remote sensing, UAS (Unoccupied Aircraft System, or drones) high-resolution maps, reconstruction of past moss banks and modeling with machine learning tools to define suitable penguin and peatbank moss habitats and explore the influence of microclimate on their distributions. In particular, the researchers are asking if guano from penguin colonies could act as fertilizers of moss banks in the presence of localized wind patters that can carry airborne nitrogen to the mosses. Modeling will relate penguin and peatbank moss spatial patterns to environmental variables and provide a greater understanding of how continued environmental change could impact these communities. The project allows for documentation of terrestrial Antarctic ecosystems in support of seabirds and provisioning of such information to the broader science community that seeks to study penguins, educating graduate and undergraduate students and a post-doctoral researcher. The research team includes two young women as Principal Investigators, one of them from an under-represented ethnic minority, first time Antarctic Principal Investigator, from an EPSCoR state (Wyoming), broadening participation in Antarctic research. Researchers will serve as student mentors through the Duke Bass Connections program entitled Biogeographic Assessment of Antarctic Coastal Habitats. This program supports an interdisciplinary team of graduate and undergraduate students collaborating with project faculty and experts on cutting-edge research bridging the classroom and the real world. Part II: Technical description: This research aims to understand the changes at the microclimate scale (meters) by analyzing present and past Adélie penguin colonies and moss peatbanks in islands around Palmer Station in the western Antarctic Peninsula – interlinked systems that are typically considered in isolation. By integrating in situ and remote data, this project will synthesize the drivers of biogeomorphology on small islands of the Antarctic Peninsula, a region of rapid change where plants and animals often co-occur and animal presence often determines the habitation of plants. A multi-disciplinary approach combine field measurements, remote sensing, UAS (Unoccupied Aircraft Systems) maps, paleoecology and modeling with machine learning to define suitable habitats and the influence of microclimates on penguin and peatbank distributions. The link between the two aspects of this study, peatbanks and penguins, is the potential source of nutrients for peat mosses from penguin guano. Peatbank and penguin distribution will be modeled and all models will be validated using in situ information from moss samples that will identify mechanistic processes. This project leverages 5 decades of seabird research in the area and high-definition remote sensing provided by the Polar Geospatial center to study the microclimate of Litchfield Island where an Adélie colony became extinct in 2007 when other colonies nearby are still present. The research team includes two early career women as Principal Investigators, one of them from an under-represented ethnic minority, first time Antarctic Principal Investigator, from an EPSCoR state (Wyoming). Researchers will serve as mentors for students through the Duke Bass Connections program entitled Biogeogrpahic Assessment of Antarctic Coastal Habitats which bridges the classroom and the real world. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

本奖项全部或部分依据2021年《美国救援计划法案》（Public Law 117-2）提供资助。

第一部分：非技术性描述

阿德利企鹅（Adélie penguin）种群正于南极半岛西部出现衰减乃至消亡。但同一区域内的企鹅种群，其衰减或消亡速率并不统一。本研究项目将评估地表属性对阿德利企鹅种群的影响，依托帕尔默站（Palmer Station）周边近50年的海鸟研究数据——该区域内利奇菲尔德岛（Litchfield Island）的阿德利企鹅种群已于2007年灭绝，而周边其他种群仍存续。

研究团队将整合遥感数据、无人机系统（Unoccupied Aircraft System，简称无人机）高分辨率测绘结果、古苔藓床重建数据以及机器学习建模工具，以明确适宜企鹅与泥炭藓滩的生境，并探究微气候对其分布的影响。具体而言，研究团队将探讨：在可将气态氮输送至苔藓的局地风场作用下，企鹅种群的鸟粪是否可作为苔藓床的肥料。

建模工作将关联企鹅与泥炭藓的空间分布模式与环境变量，以深化对持续环境变化如何影响这些群落的认知。本项目将对南极陆地生态系统进行记录以支撑海鸟研究，并向致力于企鹅研究的广大科研共同体开放相关数据，同时培养研究生、本科生及1名博士后研究人员。

本研究团队包含2位女性首席研究员（Principal Investigator），其中1位来自代表性不足的少数族裔群体，且是首次参与南极研究的首席研究员，来自EPSCoR州怀俄明州（Wyoming），旨在拓展南极研究的参与群体范围。

研究团队将通过杜克大学巴斯连接项目（Duke Bass Connections）旗下的《南极海岸生境生物地理评估》项目担任学生导师。该项目支持由研究生与本科生组成的跨学科团队，与项目教职人员及专家合作，开展连接课堂与现实世界的前沿研究。

第二部分：技术性描述

本研究旨在通过分析南极半岛西部帕尔默站周边岛屿上现存与历史阿德利企鹅种群及泥炭藓滩，解析微气候尺度（米级）下的变化——这类通常被单独研究的系统实则存在相互关联。

本项目将整合原位监测数据与遥感数据，综合解析南极半岛西部小岛的生物地貌学驱动因子；该区域正经历快速变化，动植物常伴生共存，且动物的存在往往决定植物的定居情况。

本研究采用多学科方法，整合野外实测、遥感、无人机系统（Unoccupied Aircraft Systems）测绘、古生态学研究与机器学习建模，以明确适宜生境以及微气候对企鹅与泥炭藓分布的影响。本研究的两个核心对象——泥炭藓滩与企鹅种群——之间的关联纽带为：企鹅鸟粪或可成为泥炭藓的养分来源。

研究团队将对泥炭藓滩与企鹅的分布进行建模，并利用苔藓样本的原位监测数据验证所有模型，以明确其背后的机制过程。本项目依托该区域近50年的海鸟研究数据，以及极地地理空间中心（Polar Geospatial Center）提供的高清遥感数据，对利奇菲尔德岛的微气候展开研究——该岛的阿德利企鹅种群已于2007年灭绝，而周边其他种群仍存续。

本研究团队包含2位处于职业早期的女性首席研究员，其中1位来自代表性不足的少数族裔群体，且是首次参与南极研究的首席研究员，来自EPSCoR州怀俄明州（Wyoming）。

研究团队将通过杜克大学巴斯连接项目旗下的《南极海岸生境生物地理评估》项目担任学生导师，该项目旨在打通课堂学习与现实研究的壁垒。

本奖项契合美国国家科学基金会（NSF）的法定使命，且经基金会基于知识价值与更广影响力的评审标准评估，认定其值得获得资助。