| Project/Area Number |
26840153
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
Ecology/Environment
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| Research Institution | National Institute of Polar Research |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Research Collaborator |
TAKAHASHI Akinori 国立極地研究所, 研究教育系, 准教授 (40413918)
ROPERT-COUDERT Yan Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Research Director
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| Project Period (FY) |
2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2016)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,510,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥810,000)
Fiscal Year 2016: ¥520,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥120,000)
Fiscal Year 2015: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥2,340,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥540,000)
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| Keywords | Antarctica / Environmental changes / Modeling / Penguin / Spatial distribution / Food web |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
This project explored the year-round ecological niche of penguins in Antarctica, where environmental changes affect the food webs. Thanks to the bio-logging approach (data loggers deployed on animals) and to the setting up of an international network of experts in penguins’ ecology, the following progresses were achieved. First, the year-round migration and diving activity of Adelie penguins was revealed, showing the influence of the environment across seasons on their behaviour. Sea-ice concentration, but also daylight duration and probable deepening of prey were major drivers of these seasonal changes. Second, we discovered a new behaviour in Adelie penguins: the predation on jellyfish. From this discovery, another comparison was made at the scale of the southern hemisphere across seven penguin populations from four species, and confirmed this behaviour. This may change our perception of the penguins’ niche flexibility, and hence their expected response to environmental changes.
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