Antarctic Ecosystems
Southern Life Digital Breakout
Antarctica lies at the bottom of the world and is home to a variety of fish, penguins, seals, and whales. These marine species have adapted to the harsh environment surrounding Earth’s Southern Continent. Scientists visit Antarctica between September and March (spring through fall down south) to conduct investigations designed to help us learn more about this incredible ecosystem and the species that thrive in these extreme conditions. “Southern Life” provides a digital journey into the history of Antarctic Exploration, the Antarctic Food Web, and the Use of Technology to Explore Below the Surface of the Ice. Answer Keys to the Digital Locks and the Southern Life Activity Sheet are available via email from “Science by the Sea”. (Credit: Miriam Sutton, Science by the Sea, developed this activity with data and resources provided by EARTH Workshop 2017, Polar ICE Network, and the Palmer LTER Project.) Answer Keys Available upon request.
Are Adelie Penguins Getting the Cold Shoulder?
This activity allows students to use real scientific data to explore ecosystem dynamics; including competition and predator-prey relationships among three Antarctic penguins. Students manipulate data using XCel Spreadsheet software to generate a graph to illustrate population changes observed in Adelie, Chinstrap, and Gentoo penguins between 1974 and 2010. A dataset for each species is provided. The penguin population and penguin diet datasets were collected in the Palmer Station Study region, which is part of the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program. This program began in 1992 and has been collecting annual data in this region (as well as numerous other regions in Antarctica) on a variety of ecological interactions. (Credits: Miriam Sutton (Science by the Sea), Katie Lodes (St. Joseph’s Academy), Jeff Robbins (Roosevelt Intermediate School), Tara Sain (Township of Ocean Intermediate School) developed this activity during MBARI’s EARTH/Polar Interdisciplinary Coordinated Education, Polar-ICE Workshop in New Brunswick, NJ, 2016.)
- Penguin Dynamics Activity
- Student and Teacher Penguin PALMER LTER Data (Available Upon Teacher Request)
- Penguin Dynamics Lab Sheet – EARTH 2016 (Answer Key Available Upon Teacher Request)
- Graphics for Penguin Dynamics Along the WAP-EARTH 2016
- Tutorial for Adelie Penguin Diet