[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 170 (Friday, August 30, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45991-45994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-22182]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic 
Conservation Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-541)

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic 
Conservation Act of 1978, Pub. L. 95-541.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish 
notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated 
under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published 
regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 Part 670 
of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of 
permit applications received.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit written data, comments, 
or views with respect to these permit applications by September 26, 
1996. Permit applications may be inspected by interested parties at the 
Permit Office, address below.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Permit Office, Room 755, 
Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson 
Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nadene G. Kennedy at the above address or (703) 306-1033.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Science Foundation, as directed 
by the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-541), has 
developed regulations that implement the ``Agreed Measures for the 
Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora'' for all United States 
citizens. The Agreed Measures, developed by the Antarctic Treaty 
Consultative Parties, recommended establishment of a permit system for 
various activities in Antarctica and designation of certain animals and 
certain geographic areas a requiring special protection. The 
regulations establish such a permit system to designate Specially 
Protected Areas and Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
    The applications received are as follows:
    1. Applicant: R. Natalie P. Goodall, Sarmiento 44, 9410 Ushuaia, 
Tierra del Fuego, ARGENTINA.
    Permit Application No. 97-002.
    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: The applicant is a free-
lance research biologist conducting research on marine mammals and 
birds in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. This season the applicant will 
lecture onboard cruise ships visiting the Antarctic Peninsula and 
proposes to salvage skeletons and bones of cetaceans and marine birds 
(especially penguins) encountered during shore visits. The salvaged 
bones will be used to compare with those collected from similar species 
in Tierra del Fuego region. All salvaged materials will be stored in 
the applicant's research collection in Ushuaia, Argentina. No bones 
will be collected from large cetaceans, except earbones for 
identification purposes only.
    Location: Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent islands.
    Dates: December 1, 1995-April 30, 1997.
    2. Applicant: Bill J. Baker, Department of Chemistry, Florida State 
University, 150 W. University Boulevard, Melbourne, Florida 32901.
    Permit Application No. 97-004
    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Introduction of non-
indigenous species into Antarctica.
    The applicant proposes to take four slants each of four non-
pathogenic microorganisms to McMurdo Station, for use exclusively in 
the Crary Lab, to perform antimicrobial assays on extracts from marine 
invertebrates. These microorganisms (Asperguillus niger,

[[Page 45992]]

Bacillus subtillis, Escherichia coli, and Saccharomyces cerevisae) will 
be handled using sterile techniques and will be disposed of by 
sterilization at the conclusion of the study.
    Location: McMurdo Station, Ross Island, Antarctica.
    Dates: October 1, 1996-February 28, 1997
    3. Applicant: Douglas Quin, Wild Sanctuary, 13012 Henno Road, Glen 
Ellen, California 95442.
    Permit Application No. 97-005.
    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Taking. The applicant is a 
participant in the Artist and Writer's Program and will make Digital 
Audio Tape (DAT) sound recordings of mammals and birds being studied by 
various researchers in the field this season. Although the applicant 
may need to be in close proximity to the wildlife to gain quality 
recordings, he plans to take care not to harass or otherwise upset the 
animals.
    Location: Ross Island and McMurdo Sound vicinity.
    Dates: November 1, 1996-December 21, 1996.
    4. Applicant: Donald B. Siniff, Dept. of Ecology, Evolution and 
Behavior, 100 Ecology Building, University of Minnesota, 1987 Upper 
Buford Circle, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108. Permit Application No. 97-
006.
    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Taking. Import into the 
U.S.
    The applicant plans to tag and release approximately 350 Weddell 
adult seals and approximately 550 Weddell pups as part of a continuing 
investigation of the McMurdo Sound Weddell seal population, which was 
begun in the early 1960's and has continued to the present. In 
addition, blood and tissue samples will be taken from up to 200 
individuals and imported to the U.S. for DNA extraction and toxins 
analysis. These samples are primarily to supplement future research 
into the paternity and genetic characteristics of the McMurdo 
populations specifically and Antarctic seals in general. Objectives of 
this research are 1) to continue the long-term tagging studies by 
tagging all pups born into the McMurdo Sound population and to replace 
tags on previously tagged individuals so they will not be lost from the 
tagged population, and 2) to update estimates of population parameters 
annually and to continue the analyses and test of hypotheses associated 
with this data base. Mark-recapture surveys, necessary to obtain all 
the estimates required for current capture-recapture models, will also 
be conducted.
    A preliminary investigation into the feasibility of conducting 
lavage techniques using anesthesia will be performed to examine the 
prey utilization of Weddell Seals. Previous research of stomach samples 
from harvested seals indicated that Antarctic silver fish is the major 
prey constituent during the austral summer. Since stomach content is no 
longer a viable option, and otoliths from fecal samples are often too 
eroded for accurate age estimation, lavage techniques offer a non-
lethal techniques of obtaining this data.
    Location: McMurdo Sound vicinity, Antarctica.
    Dates: October 1, 1996-September 30, 1997.
    5. Applicant: Donald B. Siniff, Dept. of Ecology, Evolution and 
Behavior, 100 Ecology Building, University of Minnesota, 1987 Upper 
Buford Circle, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108. Permit Application No. 97-
007.
    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Take. Import into the U.S. 
Enter Site of Special Scientific Interest.
    The applicant proposes to enter the White Island Site of Special 
Scientific Interest (SSSI#18) to tag up to 15 adult Weddell seals, and 
tag and draw blood samples from approximately 5 Weddell pups, as part 
of a continuing population study. The White Island seal population has 
been a focus of interest dating to the early 1960's. This group of 
seals represents an isolated population that is very small and the 
evidence suggests it has very limited exchange of individuals with the 
McMurdo Sound population. Since intensive censusing was begun in the 
late 1980's, no new (tagged) adults have appeared in the population. 
Thus, the genetics of this population is of interest because it will 
increase understanding of such concepts as inbreeding depression and 
genetic drift.
    Location: SSSI#18--North-west White Island, McMurdo Sound, 
Antarctica.
    Dates: October 1, 1996-September 30, 1997.
    6. Applicant: Phillip R. Kyle, Dept. of Earth & Environmental 
Science, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, New Mexico 87801. Permit Application 
No. 97-008.
    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Enter Site of Special 
Scientific Interest No. 11, Tramway Ridge, Mount Erebus.
    The applicant proposes to access Tramway Ridge (SSSI#11) to measure 
the temperature of the soil as a means of monitoring the volcanic 
activity of Mount Erebus. In addition, as the only area of soil on 
Mount Erebus, he intends to measure the quantity of CO2 in the 
soil and to measure its flux into the atmosphere. This will provide 
information on the degassing behavior of the magmatic system underlying 
Mount Erebus.
    Location: Tramway Ridge, Mount Erebus, Ross Island (SSSI #11).
    Dates: December 1, 1996-December 30.
    7. Applicant: Wayne Z. Trivelpiece, Department of Biology, Montana 
State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717. Permit Application No. 97-
009.
    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Taking, and Import into the 
U.S. The permit applicant proposes to capture up to 50 Adelie adults, 
from the pack-ice in the vicinity of Marguerite Bay, in order to 
collect diet samples using the water off-load technique. Birds will be 
released unharmed after handling.
    Location: Pack ice in and around Marguerite Bay, Antarctic 
Peninsula.
    Dates: January 1, 1997-March 15, 1997.
    8. Applicant: David Ainley, H.T. Harvey & Associates, P.O. Box 
1180, Alviso, California 95002. Permit Application No. 97-010.
    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Take; Import into the U.S.; 
Enter Specially Protected Area and Enter Sites of Special Scientific 
Interest.
    The applicant is conducting research to attempt to explain why 
penguin populations have been decreasing in the Ross Sea, by intensive 
studies at colonies on Ross Island. This work will be incorporated into 
the long-term study of populations dynamics mentioned in the Royds 
management plan. The applicant proposes to enter Cape Crozier (SSSI #4) 
and Cape Royds (SSSI #1) for purposes of banding up to 2,500 Adelie 
chicks and 250 adults per year. Approximately, 45 adult Adelies per 
year will be fitted with radio transmitters to be worn for 2-3 weeks 
during January and then removed. Another 250 adults per year will be 
given PIT tags (Passively Interrogated Transponder). The applicant also 
proposes to capture 35 adult penguins on the beach each year at the 
three colonies of intensive study and 10 at Beaufort Island (SPA #4) to 
collect tissues for stable isotope analysis, pump stomachs, band chicks 
and look for banded emigrants from the Ross Island colonies. While 
conducting work on Adelie penguins, the team will re-band, as needed, a 
large number of South Polar Skuas to continue a population study begun 
in 1961.
    The applicant plans to import into the U.S. penguin tissue samples 
and scavenge up to 165 chick carcasses to stable isotope analysis in 
the U.S., which will require several months to complete analysis.

[[Page 45993]]

    Location: Cape Crozier (SSSI #4), Cape Royds (SSSI #1) and Cape 
Bird, Ross Island, and Beaufort Island (SPA #5), Ross Sea.
    Dates: November 1, 1996-January 31, 2002.
    8. Applicant: Gerald L. Kooyman, Center for Marine Biotechnology, 
and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of 
California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0204. Permit 
Application No. 97-011.
    Activity for Which Permit is Requested; Taking; Import into the 
U.S.; Enter Site Special Scientific Interest, and Enter Specially 
Protected Area. Ground counts will be made at two major Emperor 
colonies (Cape Washington and Coulman Island) and at a third smaller 
and most southern Emperor colony (Cape Crozier) bordering the Ross Sea. 
This is a continuation of the longest series of censuses of Emperor 
penguins in Antarctica. Cape Crozier remains small, less than 600 
chicks, and its existence still seems tenuous after its decline to 15 
chicks in the 1970's.
    The applicant also proposes to capture up to 75 adult Emperor 
penguins, near the McMurdo ice edge and at Cape Washington. Some of 
these (about 10) will be maintained in an enclosure on the sea ice for 
up to 1 month while behavioral and physiological experiments are 
conducted. The birds will be allowed to dive at will through an ice 
hole. Approximately 30 adult Emperors will be captured/released/
recaptured. Recorders will be attached to those birds for a few dives 
while they feed below the ice edge. Similar captures and releases with 
recorders will be accomplished near Cape Washington. Recaptures will 
occur after the two-week feeding commute. These experiments are 
designed to explore and comprehend the physiological responses that 
support the great diving capacities of those birds.
    Seventy-five chicks will be collected over the season at Cape 
Washington. Fifty of these chicks will be weighed at fledging. Up to 5 
chicks leaving the colony will be captured and released with satellite 
transmitters. Blood samples will be collected from an additional 5 
chicks each week over the last month of development to measure selected 
hormone levels. After about one month, they will be released at the ice 
edge. If possible, the applicant proposes to collect 10 frozen eggs and 
salvage 2 adult Emperor carcasses for importation into the U.S.
    Location: Beaufort Island (SPA #5), Cape Crozier (SSSI #4), Coulman 
Island, and Cape Washington, McMurdo Sound vicinity.
    Dates: October 1, 1996-March 31, 1997.
    9. Applicant; Wayne Z. Trivelpiece, Department of Biology, Montana 
State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717. Permit Application No. 97-
012.
    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Taking; Import into the 
U.S.; and, Enter Site of Special Scientific Interest. The applicant is 
conducting a continuing study of behavioral ecology and population 
biology of the Adelie, gentoo, and chinstrap penguins and the 
interactions among these species and their principal avian predators: 
skuas, gulls, sheathbils, and giant fulmars. Up to 1000 Adelie and 
gentoo chicks, plus 300 adults of each of all three penguin species, 
will be banded. Up to 50 adults of each penguin species will be fitted 
with radio transmitters and time-depth recorders to continue studying 
penguin foraging habits. The study also involves stomach pumping of 40 
adult penguins per species. In addition the principal avian predators 
of the penguins, mentioned above, will also be studied, requiring up to 
200 adults and 30 chicks of each species to be banded, if possible. One 
(1) milliliter sample of blood will be collected from each of a maximum 
of 20 breeding adults of each penguin species for DNA analysis as part 
of a collaborative genetic study. All captured birds will be released 
unharmed. Carcasses and skeletons of penguins and other birds salvaged 
at the study site will be imported into the U.S. for educational and 
scientific study. The applicant also proposes to collect grass 
(Deschampsia sp.) specimens for a colleague at Montana State University 
who is examining bacteria on grasses throughout the world.
    Location: SSSI #8--Western Shore of Admiralty Bay, King George 
Island, South Shertland Islands, Antarctica.
    Dates: October 1, 1995-April 1, 1996.
    10. Applicant: Diana W. Freckman, Natural Resource Ecology 
Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-
1499. Permit Application No. 97-013.
    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Import into the U.S. and 
Enter Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The applicant proposes to 
enter five (5) Sites of Special Scientific Interest to collect soil 
samples to examine the dispersal and survival of nematodes in the 
soils, as well as examining how functional communities develop, and how 
these communities may be affected by disturbance. Site access will be 
by helicopter to the landing pad designated for each site and the 
duration of the visit to the site will be limited to several hours with 
a group of no more than 4-5 people. Soil sampling protocols have been 
selected to minimize site disturbance. Manner of taking: Soil and/or 
rock samples will be placed in sterile plastic bags and returned to 
McMurdo where the nematodes will be immediately extracted. Remaining 
soil samples will be shipped to the U.S. for further biological and 
chemical analyses, and will be handled according to USDA guidelines.
    The applicant also plans to introduce to Antarctica the nematode 
species Aphelenchus avenae as a standard in laboratory experiments to 
compare the anhydriotic strategy of S. lindsayae to provide insights 
into its response to varying environmental conditions. Extreme caution 
will be used to avoid contamination of the laboratory or outside 
environments with A. avenae. Cultures will be maintained in the lab in 
an incubator designated exclusively for this species. All work 
conducted with this nematode will be done under sterile conditions 
using a laminar flow hood. All cultures and materials used for this 
work will be autoclaved before disposal.
    Location: Cape Royds, Ross Island (SSSI #1); Cape Crozier, Ross 
Island (SSSI #4); Caughley Beach, Cape Bird, Ross Island (SSSI #10); 
Canada Glacier, Lake Fryxell, Taylor Valley, Victoria Land (SSSI #12); 
and, Linnaeus Terrace, Asgaard Range, Victoria Land (SSSI #19).
    11. Applicant: Arthur L. DeVries, Department of Physiology, 524 
Burrill Hall, University of Illinois, 407 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, 
Illinois 61801-3704. Permit Application No. 97-014.
    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Introduction of Non-
indigenous Species into Antarctica. Fifteen (15) specimens of New 
Zealand black cod, Notothenia angustata, will be cold acclimated in a 
closed seawater system in the aquarium at McMurdo Station. The cold 
acclimated specimens will be used in experiments to determine the role 
of the antifreeze glycopeptides in freezing avoidance, and for 
isolating DNA. The DNA will be screened for the presence of an 
``unexpressed'' antifreeze glycopeptide gene. Sensitive blood serum 
freezing habit tests suggest cold acclimated black cod synthesize small 
amounts of antifreeze glycopeptide after acclimation to + 4__C for 6 
weeks.
    Some specimens will be injected with purified antifreeze 
glycopeptides to determine if the presence of the antifreeze 
glycopeptides in the circulation is sufficient to provide avoidance of 
freezing or if it needs to be

[[Page 45994]]

integrated into the membranes of protected cells by synthetic ice 
crystals and the fate of the ice is determined.
    The integument of the cod will also be used in experiments to 
determine whether it is a barrier to ice propagation due to its 
physical properties or whether antifreeze glycopeptides provide a 
physiocochemical barrier in conjunction with the integument. Brain 
lipids will also be analyzed to determine the degree of unsaturation of 
the phospholipid fatty acids.
    Upon completion of experiments, the black code will be sacrificed 
and preserved in 10% formalin.
    Location: McMurdo Station, Ross Island, Antarctica.
    Dates: October 1, 1996-March 31, 1997.
    12. Applicant: Ron Naveen, Oceanites, Inc., 2378 Route 97, 
Cooksville, Maryland. Permit Application No. 97-015.
    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Taking; Enter Sites of 
Special Scientific Interest. The Antarctic Site Inventory project 
intends to collect data and information regarding the biological and 
physical features of Antarcitc Peninsula visitor locations. Survey of 
the various sites may involve slight disturbance to the animals at the 
site. Furthermore, the project may be requested to survey existing 
Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI's) during the three-year 
period of this project. Access to the SSSI's is solely for survey 
purposes.
    Location: Antarctic Peninsula visitor locations and Sites of 
Special Scientific Interest.
    Dates: September 1, 1996-August 31, 1999.
Nadene G. Kennedy,
Permit Office, Office of Polar Programs.
[FR Doc. 96-22182 Filed 8-29-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-M