Predicting the distribution of foraging seabirds during a period of heightened environmental variability

Ecosystem data was collected as part of an integrated study of the continental shelf over a 2 and a half year period between November 2015 and January 2018. Data were collected bi-monthly through the spring to autumn (November, January, March, May). Stations were situated perpendicular to shelf bathymetry, ranging in depth from ~50 m to 100 m near the edge of the shelf and were located between 5 km and 15 km from land; encompassing from south Storm Bay, past the southern tip of Bruny Island and into the Southern Ocean (south-east Tasmania, Australia). Data collected focused on each trophic level, characterizing the zooplankton community, fish schools and marine predators. The overarching aim of the study was to investigate the effects of long term warming, and a marine heatwave event on zooplankton dynamics in terms of community response variables and the flow-on effects of changing lower-trophic level dynamics for top predators.本数据集采集自2015年11月至2018年1月开展的、为期2.5年的大陆架（continental shelf）综合研究。研究每两月开展一次数据采集，采样时段为春季至秋季，具体采样月份为11月、1月、3月与5月。站位垂直于大陆架水深地形布设，采样水深范围约50米至100米，紧邻大陆架边缘，离岸距离介于5千米至15千米之间；覆盖区域南起斯托姆湾南部，途经布鲁尼岛南端，延伸至澳大利亚塔斯马尼亚东南部的南大洋海域。本次采集的数据聚焦各营养级（trophic level），涵盖浮游动物（zooplankton）群落、鱼群及海洋捕食者的特征信息。本研究的核心目标为，从群落响应变量维度探究长期海洋变暖与一次海洋热浪（marine heatwave）事件对浮游动物动态的影响，以及低营养级群落动态变化对顶级捕食者产生的级联效应。