2001 Antarctic Expedition

The Foraging Biology of Weddell Seals

Notes from the Field

  (from Terrie M. Williams, Ph.D.)
text and photos copyright to T.M. Williams

                     A scientific laboratory frozen in time in Scott's hut at Cape Evans, Ross
               Island, Antarctica.  Edward Wilson, physician and scientist on Scott's Antarctic
               expedition, worked in this lab in 1911 before their fateful race to the South Pole.
                                                            (Photo by T.M. Williams)

WEEK 8 - THE ANTARCTIC EXPLORERS

On the Shoulders of Giants

Science is rarely conducted independently; instead it builds on the discoveries of others.  This week we realized that we were standing on the shoulders of giants that had explored Antarctica a century before us.  They explored this continent with tools, instruments and supplies that made the journey far more difficult than we would ever experience.  

With our last two seals, Seal 23 (Mayflower) and Seal 24 (Sunday) in the water collecting data and video we took time to visit the huts of previous expeditions to Ross Island.  

The Ernest Shackelton hut is only a 40 minute snow mobile ride away from our sea ice camp.  Built in 1909 the wooden structure sits next to a large Adelie penguin rookery.  Black and white penguin feathers blow through the air all around us as we explore the dusty hut.  Wind blown dog houses for the sled dogs are now filled in with snow and old bones.  This hut was used during Shackelton's attempt to reach the South Pole.  His expedition came within 90 miles of the Pole but didn't reach it on that trip.    Another wooden hut is just around the corner from us and was built by Robert F. Scott in 1911 at Cape Evans.  The hut was part of the Terra Nova Expedition - Scott's second attempt to reach the South Pole.  There are stalls and harnesses for the Shetland ponies that he used to pull sleds on his expedition.   Scott successfully reached the Pole on that trip, but unfortunately died with his team members during their return.  Their bodies remain frozen in the ice to this day. Clearly, Antarctica is a continent of human successes and challenges.

Meet the New Explorers

Conducting a scientific expedition to study animals in the wild in a remote location takes a team with a wide variety of talents.  This year there were eight members on our expedition to Antarctica.  Some were new to the ice and others had been to Antarctica on several previous expeditions.  All of the members were critical to the success of the study.

Although each member had individual goals and talents, we had one thing in common: a sense of adventure associated with scientific discovery.  For all of us one of the greatest thrills in life is discovering something that has never been seen before.    

Don Calkins:  Research Assistant on the Expedition; Steller Sea Lion Program Manager for the Alaska Sea Life Center, Seward, Alaska.  This is his second expedition to Antarctica.  e-mail: don_calkins@alaskasealife.org 

Dr. Randall Davis: Principal Investigator on the Expedition interested in the diving biology of Weddell seals; Comparative Physiologist from Texas A & M University, Galveston.  This is his ninth expedition to Antarctica.  e-mail: davisr@tamug.tamu.edu 

Dr. Lee Fuiman:  Principal Investigator on the Expedition focusing on the foraging strategies of Weddell seals; Behavioral Ecologist from the University of Texas at Austin, Port Aransas Marine Station.  This is his fourth expedition to the Antarctic.  e-mail: lee@utmsi.utexas.edu; website: http://www.utmsi.zo.utexas.edu/staff/fuiman/antarctica   

William Hagey:  Engineer and explorer on the Expedition from San Diego, California.  Developed the VDAP and other instrumentation for use with the Weddell seals.  This is his fourth expedition to the Antarctic. e-mail: pisces@cts.com

Dr. Markus Horning: Principal Investigator on the Expedition responsible for developing the physiological monitors for use on free ranging seals; Behavioral Physiologist and Telemetry Technologist from the Laboratory for Applied Biotelemetry and Biotechnology, Texas A & M University, Galveston. This is his seventh time to the Antarctic. e-mail: biotele@tamug.tamu.edu; website: http://www.tamug.tamu.edu/labb/ 

Dr. Jesse Purdy: Research Assistant on the Expedition; Comparative Psychologist from Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas.  This is his first expedition to the Antarctic. e-mail: purdy@southwestern.edu

Matt Rutishauser: Research Assistant on the Expedition from the University of California at Santa Cruz; Science Director for Friends of the Sea Otter, Monterey, California. This is his first expedition to McMurdo Station.  e-mail: rutishauser@biology.ucsc.edu 

Dr. Terrie Williams:  Principal Investigator on the Expedition studying the swimming physiology and athletic capabilities of foraging Weddell seals; Comparative Exercise Physiologist from the University of California, Santa Cruz.  This is her fifth expedition to the Antarctic. e-mail: williams@biology.ucsc.edu; website http://www.biology.ucsc.edu/people/williams 

The Other Members of the 2001 Expedition

This year there were six local members that participated in our expedition, seals 19 through 24.  Remarkably, we found all of the seals and were able to retrieve our instruments at the end of the study (although some seals were sneakier than others).  In their own way, the seals were terrific collaborating scientists in this research.  Each one taught us something new about the Antarctic and the secret underwater lives of Weddell seals.

	Seal 19 has the distinction of being the first free ranging Weddell seal in history to carry our instrumentation into the wild.  She taught us that life at the breathing holes involves a lot of social skills for a Weddell seal - with a bite in the flippers sometimes being the only option to get a fresh breath of air.
Seal 19 (Ally McSeal)
	Seal 20 was the only male seal on the project and mostly sat on the ocean bottom sleeping.  He showed us how seals use long glides to save energy during their deepest dives until he broke the camera after two hours.  He definitely was in energy conservation mode.
Seal 20 (Godzilla)
	Seal 21 gave us an amazing tour of the underside of the Erebus Ice Tongue Glacier that has never before been seen by humans.  For six hours she swam through ice caves and tunnels.  During that time she passed dead fish and rocks that had frozen in the ice and other Weddell seals that seemed to use the caves as hiding places.
Seal 21 (Ms. Apnea)
	Seal 22 was a sunbather that was only interested in sleeping on top of the ice.  She swam slowly under our camp for three hours and then hauled out on the ice to stretch in the sun with the other seals.
Seal 22 (Ms. Zodiac)
	Seal 23 was our biggest seal weighing in at over 1000 pounds.  She dove away with our instruments on Thanksgiving (hence her name) and was our most successful underwater hunter.  She dove over and over again to 400 meter depths looking for fish to eat.  On the ocean bottom she showed us all types of incredible creatures - giant sponges, soft bodied sea tulips, huge starfish and prickly spider like animals.  She also was the seal that had the most to say, often chugging and trilling to other seals in the area.
Seal 23 (Mayflower)
	Seal 24 was the last seal that we worked with during this expedition.  By the time she was wearing our instrumentation the sea ice had turned into a series of melt pools around the glacier.  The pools gave her plenty of places to breathe so she led us on a merry chase around the glacier trying to find her and our instruments.  Eventually we found sleeping her among the moms and pups on the opposite side of the Erebus Glacier.   The data from our instruments showed that she had spent most of her time swimming slowly around the  shallow pools of the glacier socializing with the other seals.
Seal 24     (Sunday)

And there was one more seal that taught us about life and death in the Antarctic, the Lucky Pup.  True to his name, he made it through the summer of the B-15 iceberg (see Week 2) with the help of his dedicated mom.  He definitely was one of the lucky ones; we discovered that there were many young seals and penguins that did not survive this year.  The reasons are unclear although it is likely that changes in the sea ice patterns caused by B-15 made it difficult for the parents of chicks and pups to find food.    

As for the Lucky Pup, the last time we saw him he had grown out of his brown puppy fur and had a new adult spotted coat.  He had finally learned how to swim and dive.  His mother's duties were nearly complete.  Soon she would leave and he would begin his life as an independent young Weddell seal foraging on his own.  

So our research expedition nears the end.  Despite the long days, hard work and growing desire to see our friends and families, we are saddened as we dismantle the camp and pack up our scientific instrumentation.  

However, the science has just begun.  Over the next 12 months our research team will study the video tapes and data collected by the Weddell seals.  Discoveries will continue to be made - but this time we will be sitting comfortably in our offices.  All of the analyses will be followed by presentations to others in lectures and scientific papers.  

In this way, our discoveries can be built upon by the next team of explorers.  

Perhaps, in the future you will be on one of those teams and also experience the thrill of discovery in the Antarctic.  We've learned that the shoulders of the Antarctic explorers that came before us are large; there is always room for one more!    

Life is an Adventure: Go and Discover it!

You can write to members of our Research Team at williams@biology.ucsc.edu or the respective e-mails listed above.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Development of this web site from a remote location such as Antarctica took the talents of many of people.  Funding and logistics for this expedition were provided by a grant from the National Science Foundation, Division of Polar Programs.  Equipment for the digital images used on this web site and inspiration were provided by the Ida Benson Lynn Chair in Ocean Health (UCSC).  Stephen Hauskins of the UCSC Computer group was an invaluable colleague that took my field scribblings and pictures, and turned them into a working web site. 

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Marine mammals enjoy special protection in the United States. Research on marine mammals (including photography) within US jurisdictions or when based at a US institution requires a permit under the US Marine Mammal Protection Act as well as institutional animal use permits as outlined by the National Institutes of Health.  Work at remote field locations in Antarctica requires an additional permit as designated by the International Antarctic Treaty. The research and animals illustrated in the images on this website were performed under Antarctic Permit ACA 2002-003,  National Marine Fisheries Service Permit 821-1588 and a UCSC CARC institutional animal use permit.