Dr. Andrew Constable (AAPP/CMS/IMAS/UTAS) will be presenting on research priorities for monitoring and modelling marine food webs around East Antarctica and the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean.
Title: Marine food webs, monitoring and modelling in East Antarctica and the Kerguelen Axis of the Southern Ocean: outcomes of almost half a century of research and priorities for the future.
Abstract: The marine ecosystem of the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean has been observed through a number of research campaigns beginning with the BIOMASS program of SCAR in the 1980s. Integrated system-level research began soon after and a more intensive ecosystem focus arising with the advent of the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, an expanding CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program and the advent of the whale research program, the Southern Ocean Research Partnership. Internationally, this same period saw the establishment of the Southern Ocean Observing System, a more comprehensive satellite program and the in-sea monitoring through the ARGO program. Moreover, Australia’s marine system modelling capability, as part of the international Earth system modelling effort, was advancing apace with ACCESS. This talk will discuss the advances being made in understanding marine ecosystems in the Indian Sector and the growing capability, including datasets now available, for determining the status of these ecosystems and assessing what changes might arise in the future. Throughout this talk there will be an emphasis on priorities in this research and how it can be used in facilitating national and international precautionary approaches for safeguarding conservation in the region. The talk will conclude with a set of research priorities for the coming decade on this important ecosystem.
