Publications database

We explore the utility of estimating the density of calls of baleen whales for better understanding acoustic trends over time. We consider as a case study stereotyped 'song' calls of Antarctic blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus intermedia)…

Meteoroids of sub-milligram sizes burn up high in the Earth's atmosphere and cause streaks of plasma trails detectable by meteor radars. The altitude at which these trails, or meteors…

Baleen whales are extreme capital breeders, capable of fasting for more than half a year while migrating thousands of kilometres and nursing rapidly growing offspring that quadruple in body size over the same period. To understand this energetic conundrum…

During the transition from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the Holocene, the atmospheric N2O mole fraction increased by 80 nmol mol?1. Using ice core measurements of N2O isotopomer ratios, we show that this increase was driven by increases in both nitrification and denitrification…

Antarctic terrestrial biodiversity faces multiple threats, from invasive species to climate change. Yet no large-scale assessments of threat management strategies exist. Applying a structured participatory approach…

Antarctic biodiversity faces an unknown future with a changing climate. Most terrestrial biota is restricted to limited patches of ice-free land in a sea of ice, where they are adapted to the continent's extreme cold and wind and exploit microhabitats of suitable conditions.

One of the principal factors influencing mass loss and sea level contribution from … the Antarctic Ice Sheet currently and in future centuries is the melting of ice … shelves by the ocean. These floating extensions of the ice sheet buttress against … ice-sheet movement…

Airborne environmental DNA (airborne eDNA) analysis leverages the globally ubiquitous medium of air to deliver broad species distribution data and support ecosystem monitoring across diverse environments. As this emerging technology matures…

During the transition from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the Holocene, the atmospheric N2O mole fraction increased by 80 nmol mol?1. Using ice core measurements of N2O isotopomer ratios, we show that this increase was driven by increases in both nitrification and denitrification…

Understanding the causes of past atmospheric methane (CH4) variability is important for characterizing the relationship between CH4, global climate and terrestrial biogeochemical cycling.

We present Bedmap3, the latest suite of gridded products describing surface elevation, ice-thickness and the seafloor and subglacial bed elevation of the Antarctic south of 60?°S. Bedmap3 incorporates and adds to all post-1950s datasets previously used for Bedmap2…

As whales recover from commercial exploitation, they are increasing in abundance in habitats that they have been absent from for decades. However, studying the recovery and habitat use patterns of whales, particularly in remote and inaccessible regions…

Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) migrate between Austral-winter calving and socialising grounds to offshore mid- to high latitude Austral-summer feeding grounds. In Australasia…

The distribution of New Zealand sea lions is typically localised to New Zealand and its remote subantarctic islands. However, non-resident male sea lions were seen on Macquarie Island, 650 km from their nearest natal islands, in all months of all years from 1965 to 1980.

Antarctica is one of Earth's most untouched, inhospitable, and poorly known regions. Although knowledge of its biodiversity has increased over recent decades, a diverse, wide-ranging…

Conserving landscapes used by multiple stakeholder groups requires understanding of what each stakeholder values. Here we employed a semi-structured, participatory approach to identify features of value in the terrestrial Antarctic Peninsula related to biodiversity, science and tourism.

An underwater acoustic recorder was moored off Heard Island from September 2017 through March 2018 to listen for marine mammals. Analysis of data was initially conducted by visual inspection of long-term spectral averages to reveal sounds from sperm whales, Antarctic and pygmy blue whales…

Since 2001, hundreds of thousands of hours of underwater acoustic recordings have been made throughout the Southern Ocean south of 60° S. Detailed analysis of the occurrence of marine mammal sounds in these circumpolar recordings could provide novel insights into their ecology…

Hundreds of large whales have been tracked using consolidated (Type-C) satellite tags, yet there have been few studies on their impacts on whale health. In 2011, we initiated the first study designed to evaluate the effects of these tags on a baleen whale. Between 2011 and 2018…

Baleen whales are predominately summer visitors to Antarctic waters, where they feed on large swarms of zooplankton, primarily Antarctic Krill (Euphausia superba). Over 2 million whales were killed in Southern Hemisphere whaling operations in the 20th Century 1.

Neutron monitors (NMs) are ground-based detectors that are widely used to detect secondary particles produced by the collisions of primary cosmic rays (CRs) and air molecules in the Earth's atmosphere. Bare neutron counters (BCs), operated without the lead producer and polyethylene reflector…

Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world’s oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation. Oceanic seabirds…

Communication at the science-policy interface can be bewildering not only for early-career researchers, but also for many within the research community. In the context of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, decision-makers operating within the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS)…

Body-size relationships between predators and prey exhibit remarkable diversity. However, the assumption that predators typically consume proportionally smaller prey often underlies size-dependent predation in ecosystem models. In reality…