Photos by Tom Franklin
A recent trip to Antarctica was a trip of a lifetime for Tom Franklin ,Senior Director of Science and Policy at TRCP . They sailed through a breathtaking stretch of the Antarctic Peninsula covered with countless glaciers and icebergs. They encountered thousands of penguins (Gentoo, Adelie, and Chinstrap) and many other birds including Kelp gull, Antarctic Shag, Southern Great Petrel, Skua, Antarctic Tern, Cape Petrel, Wilson's Storm Petrel. Humpback whales, seals (Weddell, Leopard, Crabeater) also were in abundance. All species were in some way connected to krill, the Antarctic staff of life! Abundant and well distributed krill is critical to maintaining the Antarctic ecosystem. Unfortunately, climate change may be contributing to a serious decline in krill populations due to their dependence on declining ice cover.
Tom
