Antarctic Expedition Looking to Learn More about Weddell Seals’ Survival Strategies
06.10.2009 - Water & Oceans, Ice & Snow, Flora & Fauna, Other, Antarctic
Eight years after her last visit to Antarctica to study the habits of the Weddell Seal, Biologist Terrie Williams from the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) has returned to Antarctica to find out how the Weddell seal can survive the cold temperatures underneath the sea ice at McMurdo Sound during the winter months.
In the austral summer of 2001, Dr. Williams and her team studied Weddell Seals using video cameras attached to seals as they dove underneath the ice. This time around the research team - which also consists of researchers from Texas A&M University and the University of Texas - is relying on smaller and more sophisticated monitoring equipment, allowing them to record what the seals see and hear, where they go and the environmental conditions they encounter.
The research team is particularly interested in how Weddell Seals are responding to changes in their environment caused by global warming. The researchers will post updates on the web site each week during the eight-week expedition.
