AT24-382 Hybrid, The Paleohistory of Adélie Penguins in the Ross Sea Region, Antarctica, San Antonio

Event/Webinar Title: Hybrid, The Paleohistory of Adélie Penguins in the Ross Sea Region, Antarctica, San Antonio

AT-VMS: AT: Hill Country Chapter Other Approved Training (Enter AT#, Class Title as posted, Location, and Presenter)

Comments: AT24-382 Hybrid, The Paleohistory of Adélie Penguins in the Ross Sea Region, Antarctica, Bexar Audubon Society of South Central Texas (BAS) Monthly meeting, Presenter: Dr.  Steve Emslie (AT=1.5h)

Event Date: 10/23/2024

Event Time: 6:30p-8:00p webinar

6:00p-8:00p in person

Event Summary:

An overview of penguin ecology in Antarctica with a synopsis of his research and the impacts of climate change

Event Description:

In this presentation, Dr. Steve Emslie will provide an overview of penguin ecology in Antarctica with a synopsis of his research and the impacts of climate change that he has witnessed in over 25 years of work there. Five species of penguins breed in Antarctica, but only two are endemic, the Adélie and the Emperor Penguin. Dr. Emslie will describe the ecology and breeding biology of the Adélie Penguin, the most abundant species in Antarctica that also acts as an excellent indicator species for the marine environment.

This species also has the longest fossil record of any seabird in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica. That allows stable isotope, ancient DNA, and radiocarbon analyses of well-preserved tissues extending from hundreds to thousands of years in age. This record is providing insights on the responses by the Adélie Penguin to climate change in the past, allowing predictions of their responses in the future as we continue to see dramatic changes in the Antarctic environment. A new direction in this research uses a combination of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotopes to assess penguin foraging areas, past and present.

Dr. Steve Emslie is a marine ornithologist and professor in the Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington. He studies not only living seabirds but also the fossil record of birds and their paleoecology. He first went to Antarctica in 1991 to help with penguin and skua research at King George Island and soon began developing his own research program, especially on the Adélie Penguin. Using a variety of interdisciplinary techniques, Dr. Emslie and his students have been investigating the ecology and diet of these penguins, past and present, and the impact of climate change by sampling well-preserved and often mummified remains from the cold, dry Antarctic environment that range in age from hundreds to thousands of years old.

He also has designed and teaches an undergraduate course on Antarctica, “Antarctic Ecology, Geology, History, and Policy” (BIO 367) and with his students has developed K-12 curricula on polar studies that are available on his website, along with blogs from his previous research trips, at https://itsweb02.uncw.edu/penguins/.

Bexar Audubon Society of South Central Texas (BAS) Monthly Meeting

Cost: No cost

Register:

If you plan to attend the meeting in person at Alamo Colleges District, 2222 N. Alamo Street, San Antonio, TX 78215, please pre-register and sign up at:

Do not need to pre-register for zoom.

In your zoom app use the following to join the Zoom Meeting at 6:30p

Meeting ID: 868 5612 0955

Passcode: 240194

Presenter: Dr.  Steve Emslie

Event Location:

In person starts at 6:00p at Alamo Colleges District, 2222 N. Alamo Street, San Antonio, TX 78215.  Please see above to pre-register

Contact Information:

Organization Website:

Sponsoring Organization:

Bexar Audubon