Palmer LTER Long-Term Plan

Table 2.  Mechanistic studies completed or planned  for  the
future  at  Palmer  Station; typically the focus of graduate
students.

A.  Graduate studies completed


temporal dynamics and regulation  of  coastal  phytoplankton
communities, nutrient regimes, photoadaptive responses

Moline Ph. D. thesis 1996 See LTER web site for publications


feeding ecology of Antarctic krill, impact of grazing selec-
tivity  on  different phytoplankton taxa on trophic interac-
tions, development of immunochemical assay

Haberman Ph.D. thesis 1998; four publications will  be  sub-
mitted


revision  of  LCP  (light-chlorophyll-production)  model  to
better  reflect  physiological condition of phytoplankton in
Antarctic waters; further progress requires data from  newly
designed  experiments to be conducted at Palmer Station (see
B. Future topics)

Dierssen, Vernet & Smith, submitted


B.  Future topics: * indicates studies  currently  scheduled
for USAP 98-99

-  role of cdom (color dissolved organic material) in South-
ern  Ocean bio-optical algorithms (K. Patterson, EPA fellow-
ship)

*

-  influence of temperature on phytoplankton  photosynthesis
(Vernet)

*

-  influence of glacier meltwater on optical  water  proper-
ties,  phytoplankton productivity and bio-optical algorithms
(H. Dierssen, NASA fellowship)

*

-  the linkage  of  surface  phytoplankton  and  zooplankton
processes in space and time to flux detected at the bottom



-  experiments with large enclosures ('bag experiments')  to
investigate the interactions during a developing bloom among
the bacteria, phytoplankton, and macrozooplankton



-  bio-optical & (physical?) mooring at/near E  &/or  Palmer
Deep in conjunction with sediment trap for seasonal data



-  investigations of krill aggregation dynamics, and the ef-
fects of both physical and biological factors on aggregation
size, density, depth etc.



-  cross site comparison of the  impact  of  nutrient  input
from large grazers or predators on ecosystem dynamics



-  cross site comparison with  water  sampling  and  benthic
community group at Rothera



-  landscape variability and Adelie penguin demography,  i.e.
experiments  to  test the effect of snow pack enhancement on
Adelie penguin breeding biology