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Antarctica remains one of the most pristine environments
on Earth, a habitat nearly unaffected by human activities and an ideal location
for observing life in the wild.
For more than 30 years, Scripps research physiologist
Gerald Kooyman has studied the behavioral, physiological, and anatomical
adaptations of antarctic marine animals. His work, both at Scripps and in
remote field locations, has broadened scientific understanding of the specialized
adaptations of these aquatic mammals and birds and how they live and survive
on the coldest, driest, and windiest continent.
In recent years, Kooyman has focused on emperor
penguins, and how they may be affected by global climate change. The causes
and effects of global change continue to be hotly debated by scientists.
Kooyman, however, approaches it from a different perspective.
"What
really matters," he says, "is whether animal populations are increasing
or declining. If they are declining, the question is why? What is the cause
and are humans the responsible agents? If so, what can we do about it?
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The Continent of Antarctica.
McMurdo
Station is located on the frozen Ross Sea.
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"I believe emperor penguins can be a very good indicator
species by which to assess environmental changes, because there was no environmental
impact on the Ross Sea populations until about 1998.
I think it's one of the only places to have remained
free from human impact for so long and where we have pre-impact data about
the environment and various species. In almost every other place that animal
species are studied, scientists can't get away from human impact, which
compromises the data."
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