Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 71 / Wednesday, April 13, 2011 / Notices 20721 

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. 

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 this permit 

application by May 13, 2011. This 

application may be inspected by 

interested parties at the Permit Office, 

address below. 

ADDRESS: 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) 292–7405. 

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 requiring 

special protection. The regulations 

establish such a permit system to 

designate Antarctic Specially Protected 

Areas. 

The applications received are as 

follows: 

Permit Application No. 2012–001 

1. Applicant: Paul Ponganis, Center for 

Marine Biotechnology and 

Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of 

Oceanography, University of 

California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 

92093–0204. 

Activity for Which Permit Is Requested 

Take and Import into the U.S.A. The 

applicant plans to capture up to 10 

fledgling emperor chicks for research 

studies at University of California, San 

Diego. The volume of the air sacs and 

lungs are critical to the diving 

physiology of penguins in at least two 

ways. First, the respiratory oxygen store 

is estimated to comprise one-third to 

one-half the total body O2 stores in 

various species. And second, the ratio of 

air sac to lung volume is a potential 

mechanism for prevention of pulmonary 

barotrauma (‘‘lung squeeze’’). Yet the 

volumes of the air sacs and lungs have 

never been directly measured in any 

penguin species. There have only been 

indirect estimates based on simulated 

dives in pressure chambers or on 

buoyancy-swim speed calculations 

during dives at sea. Therefore, in this 

research project, air sac and lung 

volumes in emperor penguins 

(Aptenodytes forsteri), king penguins (A. 

patagonicus), and Ade ́lie penguins 

(Pygoscelis adeliae) will be measured by 

3D reconstructions from computerized 

tomography (CT) and magnetic 

resonance imaging (MRI) scans. The 

study, to be conducted in collaboration 

with the University of California San 

Diego Keck Center for Magnetic 

Resonance Imaging, will utilize captive 

birds. Subjects from the latter two 

species are already available. Most of 

the captive emperor penguins would be 

considered geriatric and at risk for 

anesthesia, therefore emperor penguins 

will be exported as chicks, and then 

raised and maintained for the study. 

The export of 10 chicks will have no 

impact on the Cape Washington colony 

as emperor penguin chick censuses 

between 1983 and 2005 have been as 

high as 24,000 chicks. 

Given (a) the significance of the 

volume of the air sacs and lungs in 

determination of the magnitude and 

distribution of total body O2 stores, (b) 

the lack of verification of indirect 

estimates of diving air volume in 

penguins, (c) the possibility of air 

exhalation during many dives of 

penguins, and (d) the limited data used 

to construct allometric equations to 

predict air sac/lung volume on the basis 

of body mass, it is imperative to obtain 

direct measures of air sac and lung 

volumes in emperor penguins, king 

penguins, and Ade ́lie penguins. Such 

direct measurements would provide the 

maximum available respiratory volume 

for O2 store calculations and allow 

better evaluation and interpretation of 

data obtained with indirect techniques 

at sea for the three species. This is 

especially important for emperor 

penguins, as it is the species in which 

the most detailed diving physiology 

studies are available. 

Location 

Cape Washington, Terra Nova Bay, 

Victoria Land. 

Dates 

September 1, 2011 to December 31, 

2012. 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, 

Management Analyst, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 2011–8737 Filed 4–12–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Notice of Permit Applications Received 

Under the Antarctic Conservation Act 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Notice of permit applications 

received under the Antarctic 

Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 

95–541. 

SUMMARY: The National Science 

Foundation (NSF) is required to give 

public 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 May 13, 2011. This 

application 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) 292–7405. 

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 as requiring 

special protection. The regulations 

establish such a permit system to 

designate Antarctic Specially Protected 

Areas. 

The applications received are as 

follows: 

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