Winter is Coming.....Krill

Ok, I can't take credit for the catchy blog post title, that slogan is thanks in part to GOT and my wonderful advisor Dr. Kim Bernard. Those of you that know me are aware that I am spending the winter in Antarctica conducting research on Antarctic krill. This blog is dedicated to the research, adventures and experiences of my first trip to the seventh continent.

I am currently living at Palmer Station on the Antarctic Peninsula doing research alongside Kim and Julia Fontana, an undergraduate senior at Oregon State University. We will spend six months here studying the overwintering physiology of juvenile Antarctic krill. Prior to joining Kim’s lab, I never thought I would spend the next five years of my life studying these charismatic critters, but nonetheless, they have stolen my heart. What intrigues me about krill is the central role they play in coastal marine food webs. They are preyed upon by higher trophic level species such as whales, seals and birds and without them, the ecosystem would be in danger of collapsing. My project here at Palmer Station will be focused on studying what factors affect the reproductive development of juvenile Antarctic krill. In late winter or early spring, krill will begin to develop their sexual organs that they will use to spawn the following summer. The rate at which sexual organ development occurs is dependent on several internal and external factors including krill physiology and environmental conditions. I’m curious to see if feeding habits throughout the period leading up to development (i.e. winter) can affect their physiology in a way that might alter the rate of development in juveniles.

In addition to long hours spent in the lab running experiments and hours on end spent in a boat collecting copepods to feed our krill, there is so much at Palmer Station to occupy my time! Palmer Station is situated at the base of a glacier and is surrounded by clusters of islands, most of which are accessible by a small boat. The galley is where everyone on station gathers for group meals and Friday night cocktail hours. The room is completed with a fireplace and cozy couches and it is the perfect place to sit and enjoy a cup of tea while gazing out into a sea of ice that is Hero Inlet.

Every morning at 6:30 a.m. a group of us meet in the lounge here on station for a group yoga sesh to wake up the joints for a long day of work ahead. We work hard here on station, but we also play hard. Last weekend was my first time up on the glacier and it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The feeling of serenity came over me as I was hiking up to the top with my trekking poles and microspikes. The only sounds I could hear were the wind wisping by me and the thunderous cracks of the glacier calving. This is by far one of the wildest and most humbling places I’ve ever been. I feel truly lucky to be able to witness Antarctica and all of its glory. It’s also important to note that we are sharing this beautiful piece of land and ocean with some pretty incredible animals. I never fail to be impressed by the wildlife that surrounds me. I’ve seen everything from sleeping humpback whales, to playful Gentoo penguins, to an irritated leopard seal that was trying to destroy one of our zooplankton light traps!

About a month ago I left my home in Corvallis, along with my boyfriend and friends, to spend six months in Antarctica studying how juvenile Antarctic krill survive the winter. We are an all women science team who have been called crazy for wanting to spend so long enduring the blistering cold that is winter in Antarctica. But truth be told, the weather at Palmer Station is quite mild thus far, so everyone can relax. When I signed onto this trip, it was because I was excited for the science and for the adventure. However, from the time I stepped on board the Laurence M. Gould (LMG) Research Vessel two weeks ago to begin the trip south, to arriving here at Palmer Station, I realized there is so much more in store for me this winter.

The people on the LMG and the people here on station have made Antarctica a home away from home for me, and for that I will be forever grateful. Our research is underway, I have joined a band, I am currently the undefeated ping-pong champion here on station, and on another note….winter is coming. Keep reading my blog if you are interested in keeping up with my research and adventures here on station! The next task at hand is to engineer a light trap that catches copepods not leopard seals…..but more on that later.

If you want to read more posts about our trip down South I encourage you to read Kim's blog posts as well. You can find those at http://kimsbernard.wixsite.com/zoop-lab/blog-1.

An Antarctic Fur Seal hauled out on an iceberg. Seen from the deck of the LMG on the way down to Palmer Station.

On board the LMG we used a midwater trawling net to catch our krill. We used a depth sounder on board the ship to detect krill abundances in the water column. Once an aggregation was observed, we deployed the midwater trawler.

Our first catch resulted in only six krill, but was full of Salpa thompsoni in their aggregate form! These salps were massive and really amazing to look at. Don't worry, we ended up catching plenty of krill in later trawls. The krill dance (shown below by Julia and Kim) set us up for success.

The video above shows how we offloaded all of our food freshies from the LMG to Palmer Station. Team work makes the dream work. This picture is of the LMG leaving Hero Inlet as it headed South to aid in research conducted by other science groups.

This is the light trap that Julia and I engineered. Unfortunately, the only thing it has caught so far is the attention of one very curious leopard seal. Back to the drawing board! Next time we deploy it into the water we will catch copepods!

A beautiful day here at Palmer Station looking out over Arthur Harbor.