The Retrospective Analysis of Antarctic Tracking (Standardised) Data from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research

The Southern Ocean is a remote, hostile environment where conducting marine biology is challenging, so we know relatively little about this important region, which is critical as a habitat for breeding and foraging of many marine endotherms. Scientists from around the world have been tracking seals, penguins, petrels, whales and albatrosses for more than two decades to learn how they spend their time at sea. The Retrospective Analysis of Antarctic Tracking Data (RAATD), was initiated by the SCAR Expert Group on Marine Mammals (EG-BAMM) in 2010. This team has assembled tracking data shared by 38 biologists from 11 different countries to accumulate the largest animal tracking database in the world, containing information from 15 species, containing over 3,400 individual animals and almost 2.5 million at-sea locations. Analysing a dataset of this size brings its own challenges and the team is developing new and innovative statistical approaches to integrate these complex data. When complete RAATD will provide a greater understanding of fundamental ecosystem processes in the Southern Ocean, help predict the future of top predator distribution and help with spatial management planning.

南大洋（Southern Ocean）是一处偏远且环境严苛的海域，开展海洋生物学研究难度极大，因此我们对这片作为众多海洋恒温动物繁殖与觅食关键栖息地的重要区域，尚且所知有限。
二十余年来，全球各地的科研人员持续追踪海豹、企鹅、海燕、鲸类与信天翁的活动轨迹，以期探明它们在远洋的生活模式与行为节律。
南极追踪数据回顾分析（Retrospective Analysis of Antarctic Tracking Data, RAATD）项目由南极科学研究委员会（Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, SCAR）下属海洋哺乳动物专家小组（Expert Group on Marine Mammals, EG-BAMM）于2010年发起。
该团队整合了来自11个国家的38位生物学家共享的追踪数据，搭建起全球规模最大的动物追踪数据库，涵盖15个物种种群、逾3400只（头）个体，以及近250万个海上定位记录。
处理如此庞大规模的数据集本身存在诸多技术挑战，团队正研发创新性的新型统计方法以整合这些复杂多元的数据。
待项目全部完成后，RAATD将助力我们更深入地解析南大洋的基础生态系统过程，辅助预测顶级海洋捕食者的分布格局变化，并为海洋空间管理规划提供科学支撑。