Welcome to the 2018 Antarctica Weddell Seal Population Study Field Blog!
We have a great season ahead for both the Erebus Bay Weddell seals that return every year to pup and the scientists who return year after year, pupping season after pupping season, to study, better understand, and conserve these magnificent Antarctic marine predators! Much of the Weddell seal population study Antarctica field crew is now in Christchurch, New Zealand awaiting their flight South to U.S. Antarctic Base McMurdo Station, enduring multiple weather delays.
Some upcoming 2018 Antarctica Field Blog highlights include the return to the Ice as a new Montana State University M.Sc. degree holder Weddell seal population scientist Kaitlin McDonald! Also the Weddell seal population project begins its 50th year of gathering data on the Erebus Bay Weddell seal population, as several veteran project researchers return to the Ice again this landmark year.
Also, geologist and USGS photographer extraordinaire William Link is returning to the Ice this season to delight us with more of his amazing imaging!
We'll be following rare older Weddell moms and discovering their ancestry and offspring, announcing new scientific papers recently published by the project, and showcasing our latest project video on How Weddell Moms Matter To Their Pups. Much, much more to come so please check back frequently!
This population ecology science group is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and supported through the United States Antarctic Program (USAP).
-Mary Lynn Price
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