Antarctic seabirds, marine mammals, & their prey

For my PhD, I studied marine predators around the island of South Georgia. We are now comparing where these species feed, as well as which species forage together, to data from the 1990s to assess how changing climate is affecting foraging behavior and distributions

On my way to Punta Arenas, Chile, “the gateway to the Antarctic”. These fun planes were adorned with pictures of local species: an orca, a guanaco (a llama-like mammal) and a rhea (a flightless bird, similar looking to, but smaller than, an ostrich). Plane-spotting helped pass the time during my 12-hour layover in Santiago!

Spectacular views as we pulled into South Georgia

While we visited in the winter, most people who visit South Georgia do so in the summertime…and for good reason! Quite difficult getting around without snow shoes

Stopped by South Georgia’s museum in Grytviken. Hanging from the ceiling is one of the world’s largest birds, the Wandering Albatross—-they can have wingspans up to 12 feet! Below are some of the museum’s other specimens: skins from a King Penguin and fur seal

A relic of South Georgia’s whaling days. With whaling banned and marine protected areas in place, whale and seal populations are in recovery

During the day we conducted surveys of seabirds and marine mammals, at night we surveyed for their prey, which includes krill, small fish, squid, and many other amphipods and gelatinous organisms