Polynyas and the DāUrville Sea Ecosystem
The DāUrville Sea, located west of Ross Sea in the easternmost part of the East Antarctic, is the best studied region of the East Antarctic and a critically important area for Antarctic predators. Productivity in the region is driven by coastal polynyas, as they occur in the same spots year after year, providing consistent access to productive waters where predators can forage.
Top Predators
The DāUrville Sea region supports an amazing array of predators, including Weddell and leopard seals, South polar skuas, snow petrels, Wilsonās storm petrels, giant petrels, cape petrels, southern fulmars, and AdeĢlie and emperor penguins. This includes the worldās most famous colony of emperor penguins from Point GeĢologie, which were featured in the March of the Penguins. This colonyās proximity to the French Dumont DāUrville Station means we have long-term data (six decades) to track how these penguins are responding to climate change.
Climate Change
Climate change is a major threat to this region. Emperor penguin colonies in the vicinity of the DāUrville station are predicted to drastically decline in the future, mostly due to declines in their sea ice habitat. While AdeĢlie penguin populations are predicted to be relatively stable into the future, climate change remains a looming threat. A colony of AdeĢlie penguins at Terra AdeĢlie in the DāUrville Sea experienced complete breeding failure twice in the last decade.
This failure was likely due to the absence of the ususal polynya nearby, which did not form in those two years due to changes in the regional winds. Thus, the adult penguins were not able to access open water to forage and bring food back to their chicks. These sad events highlight the critical importance of polynyas in providing feeding grounds during vulnerable parts of a penguinās life cycle.
Conservation
The DāUrville region is currently proposed for protection, as part of a representative system of marine protected areas (MPAs) across the whole East Antarctic region. The proposed DāUrville Sea MPA would protect and monitor foraging areas for AdeĢlie and emperor penguin colonies, which are critical during their breeding and chick rearing seasons. The MPA would also provide a reference area for better understanding the impacts of climate change, and could provide for stronger management in this vulnerable region.
