[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76862-76863]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30210]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


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

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

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

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a 
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 this permit application by January 21, 2014. 
This application may be inspected by interested parties at the Permit 
Office, address below.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adrian Dahood, ACA Permit Officer, at 
the above address or [email protected] or (703) 292-7149.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Science Foundation, as directed 
by the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541), as amended 
by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and Conservation Act of 1996, has 
developed regulations for the 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 Antarctic 
Specially Protected Areas.

Application Details

Permit Application: 2014-028

1. Applicant: Ari Friedlaender, Hattfield Marine Science Center, Oregon 
State University

[[Page 76863]]

Activity for Which Permit Is Requested

    Take and Import to the USA; The applicants propose to collect skin 
and blubber biopsy samples of minke, humpback and Arnoux's beaked 
whales. The applicants would address the following basic hypotheses 
that require collecting of genetic and blubber samples from biopsies. 
They will investigate the stock structure of whales that inhabit the 
nearshore waters of the AP which requires genetic information contained 
in skin samples. These samples can be processed and compared against 
voucher samples from breeding populations in the Pacific Ocean to 
determine the population structure of animals feeding in Antarctic 
waters. Likewise, the sex of individual whales can be determined from 
genetic markers from the skin samples. Knowing the ratios of males: 
females can provide information about the growth and structure of the 
cetacean communities. In order to understand the diet of different 
marine mammals and if/how these change spatially or over the course of 
a season, we can compare the stable isotope signatures in blubber to 
those of their known prey items. This common analysis is potent and can 
greatly inform studies on the feeding behavior of whales in the region. 
The applicants would use standard dart-biopsy methods that have been 
used for more than 2 decades and are proven to be both humane and 
appropriate. A small sterilized stainless steel tip would be attached 
to the end of a customized crossbow bolt that has a flotation stopper 
engineered on to it. When the dart hits the whale, it penetrates the 
outermost skin and collects a ~10x5 mm sample of both skin and blubber. 
These samples are placed in sterilized cryovials and kept in -20C 
freezers until they are shipped frozen back to our labs for analysis. 
All samples would be collected by investigators with significant 
experience in the process.

Location

    Antarctic Peninsula between Marguerite Bay and the Gerlache Strait, 
inshore waters.

Dates

    January 15, 2014 to December 31 2014.

Nadene G. Kennedy,
Polar Coordination Specialist, Division of Polar Programs.
[FR Doc. 2013-30210 Filed 12-18-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P