Integrated Marine Observing System NCRIS 2013 Facility/Sub-Facility Project Plan (Period July 2013 to June 2015)
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Integrated Marine Observing System NCRIS 2013 Facility/Sub-facility Project Plan (period July 2013 to June 2015) Overview: IMOS Facility 8 Animal tagging and monitoring Operator Sydney Institute of Marine Science Facility Leader Name: Prof Rob Harcourt Position: Professor Email: [email protected] Phone: (office) 0298507970 (mobile) 0421780434 Other key Andrew Boomer SIMS people Peter Doherty Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) involved Mark Meekan Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) Michelle Heupel Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) Colin Simpfendorfer James Cook University (JCU) Jayson Semmens University of Tasmania, IMAS Mark Hindell University of Tasmania, IMAS Mary-Anne Lea University of Tasmania, IMAS Clive McMahon SIMS, University of Tasmania, IMAS Barry Bruce CSIRO Russ Babcock CSIRO Iain Suthers UNSW Simon Goldsworthy SARDI Charlie Huveneers SARDI Vic Peddemors NSW DPI Matt Taylor NSW DPI Fred Whoriskey OTN, Canada Cristoph Guinet, CNRS, France Jean-Benpit Charrasin, L’Ocean, France Rob Mattlin, NIWA/DOC, NZ Collaborating Macquarie University (MQ) institutions Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research SARDI Aquatic Sciences Department of Environment and Heritage SA Department of Primary Industry (DPI) NSW Flinders University University of Tasmania Australian Antarctic Division James Cook University (JCU) National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) (International) Ocean Tracking Network (International) CNRS, France L’Ocean, France Operator Name: Peter Steinberg Position: Director Representative Email: [email protected] Phone: (office) (02) 9435 4600 Approval 1 Nature of investment: The proposed investment comprises two components the National Acoustic Network and Monitoring of Apex Predators A. 08a National Acoustic Network: Over the course of this funding cycle AATAMS will: 1) Maintain the existing national AATAMS arrays and curtains comprising 550 Acoustic receivers distributed in a national network plus support for 750+ receivers owned by other parties but registered with our network 2) Make all IMOS data freely available via the online web based centralised data repository http://aatams.emii.org.au/aatams/. 3) Provide a central repository for data from collaborating institutes and researchers from Australia- a world first 4) Ensure data is available in a timely fashion with uploads to the centralised database within one month of receiver servicing as outlined in the implementation plan 5) Provide technical support to the research community through workshops on acoustic methods, on use of the AATAMS database, while simultaneously enhancing network and facilitating information exchange on a national basis 5) Provide leadership in development of global networks through international collaborations with Australia’s nearest neighbours (e.g. New Zealand) and through participation as a lead party in the global Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) B. 08b Monitoring of Apex Predators: Over the course of this funding cycle AATAMS will: 1) Continue annual deployments of top predator biologgers including Seals as Oceanographic Samplers along the southern coast/shelf area of Australia and the Southern Ocean and biologging of seabirds. Data collected will provide important abiotic information for use in developing oceanographic models of the southern ocean and other regions, while providing the opportunity to define areas of ecological significance (AES) in the southern ocean and provide crucial information to ecosystem change. 2) Make all IMOS data freely available via the online web based centralised data repository 3) Provide a central repository for data from collaborating institutes and researchers from Australia. 4) Ensure data is available in a timely fashion with uploads to the centralised database in near real time as outlined in the implementation plan 5) Provide technical support to the research community through workshops on biologging methods, on use of the AATAMS database, while simultaneously enhancing network and facilitating information exchange on a national basis 5) Provide leadership in development of global networks through international collaborations with Australia’s nearest neighbours (e.g. New Zealand) and through other nations working in the Antarctic region (eg CNRS France) and participation in formal Collaborations (eg Marine Mammals Exploring pole to Pole (MEOP), Ocean Tracking Network Implementation Strategy: Objectives The objectives of AATAMS are twofold. First is to create a national acoustic receiver network for the Australian research community thereby facilitating large scale, collaborative research using acoustic tagging methods. Acoustic monitoring is a powerful tool for observing animals in coastal and continental shelf 2 ecosystems. Networks of receivers, allow animals to be monitored over scales 10s of metres to 1000s of kilometres. Tracking animals using these tags has been invaluable for monitoring, for example, habitat use, home range size, timing of long-term movements and migratory patterns and examining biotic and abiotic factors that dictate animal distribution and movements. We have deployed an array of submerged receiving stations that form a national network and have further value added to this network by AATAMS making an important contribution to the Ocean Tracking Network (OTN), a global partnership and co- investor in AATAMS. The array has been strategically developed to facilitate research on movements of animals in relation to the major boundary currents complementing physical measurements made with other IMOS infrastructure. This has strong ties to over 35 state federal and private research organisations acting as a central point to all. Over 40 million detections are currently recorded from 2341 individual animals representing all coastal habitats across coastal Australia. Second is to enhance the Australian research community’s ability to detect ecosystem responses to change in the marine environment by measuring key demographic parameters and foraging movements of select top predators in the Southern Ocean. Miniaturized loggers with high resolutions sensors are deployed on large marine vertebrates. This directly enhances collection of oceanographic data in the Southern Ocean and in Australian boundary currents by providing profiles of temperature and salinity from regions of the Southern Ocean and coastal shelf regions that are difficult to sample by other means (eg beneath the winter sea ice for which 45,496 profiles had been collected as at 14 Feb 2013, and across cross shelf currents in southern Australia, 26,000 profiles to date), and by relating predator movements and behaviour to fine-scale ocean structure and variability. Build institutional strengths into national capability AATAMS has from the outset worked with the research community to develop a national facility that serves the needs of the community. The national acoustic telemetry network created by AATAMS includes 120 research groups across 35 Institutions. These researchers are conducting over 60 projects on approximately 100 different animal species for which 2000+ acoustic receivers have been deployed. More than 40 million detections in the national database attest to the strength and utility of the network. AATAMS Biologging stream is also collecting high quality biotic and abiotic data with in excess of 71,000 CTD profiles collected by seals in the southern ocean and along Australia’s southern coasts (SOSS) and with mapping of Areas of Ecological Significance by a suite of top predator species (seabirds and seals). AATAMS is a lead component of the Ocean Tracking Network (http://oceantrackingnetwork.org) and now with SOSS has become a major contributor to the Marine Mammal Exploration of the Oceans Pole to Pole (MEOP) Program (http://www.meop.info/en/) and to Global Tagging of Pelagic Predators (http://www.gtopp.org/index.htm). Major activities Biologging: 1) Deployment of CTD tags on sea lions and fur seals 2) Deployment of CTD tags on southern elephant seals and Weddell seals 3) Deployment of SRDLs on Emperor penguins 4) Deployment of GLS loggers on Shearwaters and Antarctic Fulmars 3 Acoustics: 5) Service and recovery of Scott and Rowley Shoal arrays, WA (WA Govt) 6) Service and recovery of Maria Island curtain, Tas (OTN) 7) Service and recovery of Flinders Island curtain, Tas (OTN) 8) Service and recovery of Ningaloo curtains and arrays, WA 9) Service and recovery Mangrove Bay, WA 10) Service and recovery Bondi curtain, NSW 11) Service and recovery Coffs Curtain, NSW 12) Service and recovery Narooma curtain, NSW 13) Service and recovery Heron Island array, QLD 14) Service and recovery One Tree island array, QLD 15) Service and recovery Orpheus island array, QLD 16) Service and recovery Glenelg curtain, SA Expected highlights, difficulties and/or breakthroughs for the NCRIS 2013 period Highlights: Continuance of AATAMS relatively intact through NCRIS 2013 will result in continued increases in the number of users at both organisation and researcher level. Recognition of the value to the research community of a national network is now becoming more than just theoretical. Both national and international collaboration is predicted to increase with the database functionality providing increased utility and our global partner Ocean Tracking Network also making significant advances. Difficulties: We will be operating below required personnel for servicing the array and so risk of trained personnel