APIS - Antarctic Pack Ice Seals 1994-1999, plus historical data from the 1980's

APIS data were collected between 1994 and 1999. This dataset also includes some historical data collected between 1985 and 1987. Both aerial and ship-board surveys were conducted. Studies on the behaviour of Pack-ice or Crabeater Seal (Lobodon carcinophagus) in the Southern Ocean and in the Australian Sector of Antarctica were also conducted as part of this study. Satellite tracking was used to determine their movement, durations on land and at sea, dive depths and dive duration etc. The four species of Antarctic pack ice seals (crabeater, leopard, Weddell, and Ross seals) are thought to comprise up to 50% or more of the world's total biomass of seals. As long-lived, top level predators in Southern Ocean ecosystems, pack ice seals are scientifically interesting because they can assist in monitoring shifts in ecosystem structure and function, especially changes that occur in sensitive polar areas in response to global climate changes.

The APIS Program focuses on the ecological importance of pack ice seals and their interactions with physical and biotic features of their environment. This program is a collaborative, multi-disciplinary research initiative whose planning and implementation has involved scientists from more than a dozen countries. It is being developed and coordinated by the Group of Specialists on Seals of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), and represents an important contribution to SCAR's Antarctic Global Change Program. Australian researchers have undertaken an ambitious science program studying the distribution and abundance of pack ice seals in support of the APIS Program. An excellent overview of this work is provided at the Australian Antarctic Division's web site. The following paragraphs provide a brief progress report of some of that work through 1998. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Four years of developmental work have now been completed in preparation for the Australian contribution to the circumpolar survey that will take place in December 1998. Until recently the main effort has been directed towards designing and building a system for automatic data logging of line transect data by double observers. Two systems identical in concept have been designed for aerial survey and shipboard survey. The systems consist of a number of sighting guns and keypads linked to a central computer. The sightings guns are used to measure the exact time and angle of declination from the horizon of seals passing abeam of the survey platform. Also logged regularly (10 second intervals) are GPS position and altitude (aerial survey only). The aerial survey system also has an audio backup. The aerial survey system has been trialled over three seasons and the shipboard system over one season. Preliminary analysis of aerial data indicates that the essential assumption of the line transect method is badly violated, reinforcing the need for double observers. Assumption violation is likely to be less in shipboard survey, but assessment of the assumption of perfect sightability on the line is still important. User manuals have been written for both the aerial and shipboard systems. An aerial survey system is being constructed for use by BAS in the coming season. A backup manual system for aerial and shipboard survey has also been developed in the event of the automatic system failing. The aerial backup system uses the perspex sighting frame developed by the US. A database has been designed for storage and analysis of aerial and shipboard data. Importing of data is fast and easy, allowing post-survey analysis and review immediately after each day's survey effort. Aides for training observers have been developed. A video on species identification has been produced. A Powerpoint slide show has been designed to simulate aerial survey conditions and use of the automatic data logging system. Currently effort has been directed toward developing an optimal survey design. While a general survey plan is necessary, it must be flexible to deal with unpredictable ice and weather conditions. It is planned to use both the ship and two Sikorsky 76 helicopters as survey platforms. The ship will be used to survey into and out from stations, and inwards from the ice edge for approximately 60 miles. The helicopters will be used to survey southwards from the ship for distances up to 140 miles in favourable weather. Helicopters will fly in tandem, with transects 10 miles apart. Studies of crabeater seal haul-out behaviour have been conducted over the past four seasons. Twenty SLTDRs have been deployed in the breeding season (September-October). The length of deployments varies from a few days to 3 months. No transmissions have been received after mid-January, probably due to loss of instruments during the moult. Most instruments have transmitted data through the survey period of November-December. Haul-out behaviour is consistent between animals and years. However, five more instruments will be deployed in the survey season to ensure there is haul-out data concurrent with the survey effort. Some observations of penguins and whales were also made.

The accompanying dataset includes three Microsoft Access databases (stored in both Access 97 and Access 2002 formats), as well as two Microsoft Word documents, which provide additional information about these data. The fields in this dataset are: Date Time Time since previous sighting Side (of aircraft/ship) Seen by (observer) Latitude Longitude Number of adults Number of pups Species (LPD - Leopard Seal, WED - Weddell Seal, SES - Southern Elephant Seal, CBE - Crabeater Seal, UNS - Unknown Seal, ADE - Adelie Penguin, ROS - Ross Seal, EMP - Emperor Penguin, MKE - Minke Whale, ORC - Orca Whale, UNP - Unknown Penguin, UNW - Unknown Whale) SpCert - How certain the observer was of correct identification - a tick indicates certainty Distance from Observer (metres) Movement Categories - N: no data, S: stationary, MB: moved body, MBP: moved body and position, movement distance: -99 no data, negative values moved towards flight line, positive distance moved away from flight line
Distance dart gun fired from animal (in metres) Approach method (S = ship, H = helicopter, Z = unknown) Approach distance (metres) Group (S = single, P = pair, F = family (male, female and pup)) Sex Guessed Weight (kg) Drugs used Maximum Sedation Level (CS = Colin Southwell, MT = Mark Tahmidjis) Time to maximum sedation level Time to return to normal Heart rate (maximum, minimum) Respiration rate (maximum, minimum, resting) Arousal Level (1 = calm, 2 = slight, 3 = strong) Arousal Level Cat1 (1 = calm, 2 = 2+3 from above) Apnoea (maximum length of apnoea in minutes) Comments Time at depth - reading taken every 10 seconds, and whichever depth incremented upwards by 1. Time period (NT - 21:00-03:00, MN - 03:00-09:00, MD - 09:00-15:00, AF - 15:00-21:00) Seal Age - (A = Adult, SA = sub-Adult) WCId - Wildlife Computers Identification Number for SLTDR Length, width, girth (body, head, flippers) (cm) Blood, blubber, skin, hair, tooth, scat, nasal swab - sample taken, yes or no. In general, Y = Yes, N = No, ND = No Data

This work was also completed as part of ASAC projects 775 and 2263.

APIS数据采集于1994至1999年间，本数据集还包含1985至1987年间收集的部分历史数据。研究采用航空与船基两种调查方式开展，同时针对南大洋及南极澳大利亚辖区内的浮冰（Pack-ice）或食蟹海豹（Crabeater Seal, Lobodon carcinophagus）的行为展开专项调查。本研究借助卫星追踪技术，获取了海豹的移动轨迹、陆地与海上停留时长、潜水深度及潜水时长等关键参数。南极浮冰海豹共有4个物种：食蟹海豹、豹海豹、威德尔海豹（Weddell Seal）与罗斯海豹（Ross Seal），其总生物量据信占全球海豹总生物量的50%及以上。作为南大洋生态系统中的长寿顶级捕食者，浮冰海豹具有极高的科学研究价值，可用于监测生态系统结构与功能的变化，尤其是响应全球气候变化的极地敏感区域内发生的生态变化。

APIS计划（APIS Program）聚焦于浮冰海豹的生态重要性，以及它们与所处环境的物理、生物特征之间的相互作用。本计划是一项多学科合作的研究项目，其规划与实施集结了来自十余个国家的科研人员。该计划由南极研究科学委员会（Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, SCAR）下属的海豹专家小组牵头开发与协调，是SCAR南极全球变化计划的重要组成部分。澳大利亚科研人员开展了一项规模宏大的科学研究计划，旨在调查浮冰海豹的分布与丰度，以支持APIS计划。相关工作的详尽概述可参见澳大利亚南极局（Australian Antarctic Division）官方网站。下文将简要介绍截至1998年的部分研究进展。
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为支持澳大利亚参与1998年12月的环南极调查，项目团队已完成四年的筹备开发工作。直至近期，核心工作集中于设计并搭建一套供双观察员记录样线调查数据的自动数据记录系统。针对航空调查与船基调查，我们分别设计了两套理念一致的系统：该系统由若干瞄准枪与键盘组成，与中央计算机相连，瞄准枪用于精准测量与调查平台舷侧并排经过的海豹的观测时间及与地平线的俯角。系统还会按每10秒的间隔定期记录GPS位置与海拔高度（仅航空调查适用），航空调查系统还配备了音频备份。航空调查系统已历经三个航季的试用，船基系统则完成了一个航季的测试。对航空调查数据的初步分析显示，样线调查法的核心假设遭到严重违背，这进一步凸显了双观察员制度的必要性。船基调查中的假设违背概率相对较低，但对样线上完美可见性假设的评估仍十分重要。

项目团队已为航空与船基两套系统编写了用户手册。英国南极调查局（British Antarctic Survey, BAS）将在下一航季启用一套自研的航空调查系统。同时，我们还开发了一套手动备份系统，以防自动系统发生故障：航空手动备份系统采用了美国研发的有机玻璃瞄准框架。我们设计了一套专用数据库，用于存储与分析航空及船基调查数据，该数据库的数据导入便捷高效，可在每日调查工作结束后立即开展事后分析与复盘。此外，项目团队还开发了多项用于培训观察员的辅助工具：制作了物种识别教学视频，设计了PowerPoint幻灯片演示文稿，用于模拟航空调查场景及自动数据记录系统的操作流程。

当前，工作重点在于优化调查方案设计。虽然通用调查计划是必要的，但必须具备足够的灵活性，以应对不可预测的海冰与天气状况。计划将使用科考船与两架西科斯基S-76直升机作为调查平台：科考船将用于往返站点及从冰缘向内约60英里的航线调查；直升机将在天气条件允许时，从科考船向南开展最远140英里的调查，且以双机编队作业，样线间距设置为10英里。

在过去四个航季中，团队开展了食蟹海豹上岸行为的相关研究。在繁殖季（9-10月），我们部署了20台小型卫星跟踪数据记录仪（Satellite-linked Terminal Data Recorder, SLTDR），部署时长从数天至3个月不等。1月中旬后未再收到任何传输信号，推测可能是换毛期间仪器丢失所致。多数仪器在11-12月的调查期内完成了数据传输。不同个体与不同航季的上岸行为表现一致。不过，项目团队计划在本次调查季再部署5台记录仪，以确保获取与调查工作同步的上岸行为数据。调查期间，团队还同步开展了部分企鹅与鲸类的观测工作。

本配套数据集包含3个Microsoft Access数据库（同时兼容Access 97与Access 2002格式），以及2份Microsoft Word文档，用于补充说明相关数据信息。数据集包含以下字段：
日期（Date）、时间（Time）、上次观测以来的时间间隔（Time since previous sighting）、观测平台侧舷（Side (of aircraft/ship)）、观测者（Seen by (observer)）、纬度（Latitude）、经度（Longitude）、成年个体数量（Number of adults）、幼崽数量（Number of pups）、物种（Species，其中LPD代表豹海豹（Leopard Seal）、WED代表威德尔海豹（Weddell Seal）、SES代表南象海豹（Southern Elephant Seal）、CBE代表食蟹海豹（Crabeater Seal）、UNS代表未知海豹（Unknown Seal）、ADE代表阿德利企鹅（Adelie Penguin）、ROS代表罗斯海豹（Ross Seal）、EMP代表帝企鹅（Emperor Penguin）、MKE代表小须鲸（Minke Whale）、ORC代表虎鲸（Orca Whale）、UNP代表未知企鹅（Unknown Penguin）、UNW代表未知鲸类（Unknown Whale））、物种识别可信度（SpCert：观察者对物种鉴定正确性的置信程度，打勾代表确定）、观测者距离（单位：米，Distance from Observer (metres)）、移动类型（Movement Categories，其中N代表无数据、S代表静止、MB代表仅身体移动、MBP代表身体与位置均移动；移动距离字段：-99代表无数据，负值表示向飞行航线移动，正值表示远离飞行航线）、向目标动物发射麻醉镖的距离（单位：米，Distance dart gun fired from animal (in metres)）、接近方式（Approach method，S代表船基、H代表直升机、Z代表未知）、接近距离（单位：米，Approach distance (metres)）、群体类型（Group，S代表单独个体、P代表成对个体、F代表家族群（雄性、雌性与幼崽））、推测性别（Sex Guessed）、体重（单位：千克，Weight (kg)）、使用的麻醉药物（Drugs used）、最大镇静水平（Maximum Sedation Level，其中CS代表Colin Southwell、MT代表Mark Tahmidjis）、达到最大镇静水平的时长（Time to maximum sedation level）、恢复正常状态的时长（Time to return to normal）、心率（最大值、最小值，Heart rate (maximum, minimum)）、呼吸频率（最大值、最小值、静息值，Respiration rate (maximum, minimum, resting)）、觉醒程度（1代表平静、2代表轻微、3代表强烈，Arousal Level）、觉醒程度分类1（1代表平静、2代表上述2+3合并，Arousal Level Cat1）、呼吸暂停时长（最长呼吸暂停时长，单位：分钟，Apnoea (maximum length of apnoea in minutes)）、备注（Comments）、深度记录（每10秒采集一次深度数据，以每1单位递增的深度增量记录，Time at depth - reading taken every 10 seconds, and whichever depth incremented upwards by 1）、时段（Time period，其中NT代表21:00-03:00、MN代表03:00-09:00、MD代表09:00-15:00、AF代表15:00-21:00）、海豹年龄（Seal Age，A代表成体、SA代表亚成体）、SLTDR设备编号（WCId - Wildlife Computers Identification Number for SLTDR）、体长、体宽、胸围（躯干、头部、鳍肢，单位：厘米，Length, width, girth (body, head, flippers) (cm)）、样本采集情况（Blood, blubber, skin, hair, tooth, scat, nasal swab - sample taken, yes or no. 通用规则：Y代表是、N代表否、ND代表无数据）。

本研究同时作为ASAC项目775与2263的一部分完成。