Vertebrate ecologists report from Davis Station, 1983 - Rhys Puddicombe

This is a scanned copy of the vertebrate ecologists report from Davis Station in 1983, written by Rhys Puddicombe.Taken from the report:This annual report covers the period 9/11/82 to 10/12/83. As such it is an incomplete record, as some projects are ongoing until mid-January 1984, whilst others will be begun and completed between early December and mid-January. Where this is the case only a brief outline will be presented to illustrate the aims of these projects.This report will generally deal only with practical work and raw results as the majority of analyses will not be completed until early 1984.The two major projects for the year have been seal tagging/resighting, and penguin vomit analysis. Several additional projects are complementary to this work, but for clarity's sake will be covered separately. Finally, several minor projects have involved either observations or data and material collections for analysis by people in Australia.Topics covered by this report:LakesFishingFat collectionBriefing/equipping members of Dick Smith ExplorerElephant Seals - Davis Beach census - Day trips - Branding - Collection of teeth and toenails - Seal census on voyage through pack iceWeddell Seals - Faeces collection for Ken Green - Seal recording - Seal tagging/resighting - Aerial weddell surveys/censusSeabird census from Australia to Mawson Ice EdgeGiant Petrel bandingVomiting of Southern Fulmars and Cape Petrels and bolus collection of Skuas and Giant PetrelsEmperor Penguin vomitingAdelie penguins - Blood collections - Dead adelie collection - Egg collection - Penguin banding - Counts of breeding reference groups - Adelie vomiting