Collaborative Research: Initiation and Maintenance of Population Maxima of the Ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi in Northern Coastal Waters

合作研究：北部沿海水域栉水母 Mnemiopsis leidyi 种群数量最大值的启动和维持

• 批准号: 0116236
• 负责人: John Costello
• 金额: $ 24.37万
• 依托单位: Providence College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-09-01 至 2005-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0116236&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Initiation; Maintenance; Population

Initiation and Maintenance of Population Maxima of the Ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi in Northern Coastal WatersSubstantial increases in peak concentrations of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi have occurred in the last decade in Narragansett Bay, an estuary at the northern boundary of the geographic distribution of this species. The seasonal timing of Mnemiopsis pulses has also shifted from late summer to early spring during years with earlier warming of bay water temperatures. Significant ecological consequences of this temporal introduction are potentially great. Mnemiopsis is now abundant during the peak period of fish spawning in the region. Severely depleted stocks of zooplankton have been observed in spring and summer of 2000. Similar changes in seasonality and abundance of the species are likely to be occurring in other estuaries in the northeast. Despite the clear ecological importance of large pulses of ctenophores, the quantitative basis for understanding conditions giving rise to rapid population increases is limited. While temperature and food supply must ultimately be dominant variables controlling growth and reproduction of this species, there is little information about reproduction of over-wintering populations or conditionswhich favor growth of larvae in spring. In this study the investigators will conduct field and laboratory studies of Mnemiopsis over the full annual cycle to determine effects of temperature, food supply and food quality on reproductive rates and larval growth. The role of microzooplankton, addressed in only two previous laboratory studies will be fully addressed in both field and laboratory components. Areas of Narragansett Bay which have recently been observed to sustain unexpectedly large population of Mnemiopsis in winter, as well as areas in which populations pulses are delayed until spring will be compared. Hydrographic data will be collected and examined for both direct and indirect effects of physical factors on population growth, including the role of thermal stratification in population pulse initiation. Given the evidence for disruptive effects on ecosystems of seasonal or geographic invasions of Mnemiopis leidyi and the limited number of studies of this species at the northern edge of its geographic range, justification for this study is compelling. Quantitative information on the influence of temperature and food on both larval and adult M. leidyi at the level of detail collected in this study will significantly advance our understanding of factors required for initiation and maintenance of population pulses of this species.

在过去的十年中，在纳拉拉加内斯特湾（Narragansett Bay）发生了cenophore mnemiopsis leidyi的开始和维持最大值的人口最大值。 Mnemiopsis脉冲的季节性时机也从夏末到早春，较早的海湾水温变暖。这种时间引入的重大生态后果可能是很大的。现在，在该地区鱼产卵的高峰时期，Mnemiopsis现在很丰富。在2000年春季和夏季，已经观察到了浮游动物的严重枯竭。在东北的其他河口可能发生类似的季节性和丰富性变化。尽管大量的c脉脉冲具有明显的生态重要性，但了解导致人口迅速增加的条件的定量基础是有限的。虽然温度和食物供应最终必须是控制该物种生长和繁殖的主要变量，但几乎没有关于越冬种群再现的信息，或者春季有利于幼虫的生长。 在这项研究中，研究人员将在整个年度周期内对Mnemiopsis进行现场和实验室研究，以确定温度，粮食供应和食品质量对生殖率和幼虫生长的影响。在之前的两项实验室研究中，Microzooplankton的作用将在现场和实验室组件中得到充分解决。纳拉甘西特湾（Narragansett Bay）最近被观察到的地区冬季要维持大量的Mnemiopsis，以及将种群延迟到春季的地区。水文数据将被收集并检查物理因素对种群生长的直接和间接影响，包括热分层在种群脉冲开始中的作用。鉴于有证据表明对Mnemiopis Leidyi的季节或地理入侵生态系统的破坏性影响以及该物种在其地理范围的北边缘的研究数量有限，因此这项研究的理由是令人信服的。关于温度和食物对本研究收集的细节水平的幼虫和成年leidyi的影响的定量信息将大大提高我们对该物种种群脉冲启动和维持所需因素的理解。