Preparations and training continue for our 2011 field season here in Antarctica.

As a bit of background on the project, this Weddell seal population study has been ongoing for well over 40 years, and has resulted in very long-term records that follow individual Weddells over their lifetimes. We have a new History section on our web portal about the long history of this project.

Here's a short video from our website multimedia section on studying Weddell seals…

The Weddell seal study database covers a time period for long-lived mammals that is unique in the scientific community.  Because of this, scientists are able to study factors influencing how the various population vital rates, such as reproduction and survival, are influenced by annual environmental changes, and how the yearly cohort into which a seal is born influences its long-term population contribution.

The scientists are also investigating how individual variation in Weddell seals interacts with environmental variability that gives rise to differences in individual fitness, and the effect this may have on the overall Weddell seal population.

– Mary Lynn Price