A Graduate Training Program in Antarctica: Integrative Biology and Adaptation of Antarctic Marine Organisms

南极研究生培训项目：南极海洋生物的综合生物学和适应

• 批准号: 0504072
• 负责人: Donal Manahan
• 金额: $ 94.27万
• 依托单位: University of Southern California
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-07-15 至 2013-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0504072&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Graduate; Training; Program; Antarctica; Integrative

Biological impacts of the ozone hole, debates about global warming and temperature adaptations, and the evolution of biological diversity in the cold biosphere are some of the important themes that are central to scientific investigations in Antarctica. Yet few students ever have the opportunity to study science on-site in Antarctica because of the obvious limitations resulting from the remoteness of this continent. This project will support a series of advanced level, graduate training courses that will be organized and taught on site in Antarctica. These courses will be open to Ph.D. students and postdoctoral-level scientists interested in the study of biological adaptations of Antarctic marine organisms. Each of the three austral summer courses will be offered for approximately twenty students over a five-year period in Antarctica, in January 2006, 2008 and 2010. These courses will be held at McMurdo Station, the major base in Antarctica of the United States Antarctic Program. This NSF-supported research station has well equipped laboratories for the kinds of educational and student research activities that will be undertaken in the proposed courses. The major goal of these courses is to introduce students and new postdoctoral-level investigators to Antarctic science through studies of the diversity of life forms and the mechanisms of biological adaptation of Antarctic marine organisms. The courses will introduce an international group of students to a wide range of Antarctic organisms, including vertebrates, invertebrates, algae and microbes. Lead instructors with considerable experience with organizing and teaching such advanced educational programs in Antarctica in the past will participate in the program A further aim of the proposed courses is to train all the participants in approaches to integrative biology, by having them study unique biological processes in the cold biosphere that span several different levels of biological organization. For instance, long-standing questions in evolution (e.g., cold adaptation) and ecology concerning the biology of Antarctic organisms will be examined with 1) physiological studies of whole organisms; 2) studies of isolated cells and tissues; 3) experiments on protein structure and function; and 4) molecular analysis of genetic systems. These Antarctic courses will have an educationally intense format similar to summer courses that have been offered in the past at US-based marine laboratories, an approach that has been very successful at introducing new students to important fields of biology. The general format of the Antarctic courses will consist of field collections and laboratory experiments, together with many lectures on polar science from course faculty and guest speakers. Some of the specific themes to be covered during the courses in Antarctica will include: biological diversity; biochemical adaptation; cold adaptation; energy metabolism; molecular phylogeny; and UV photobiology. These themes will be interwoven during the courses with independent, student-initiated research projects. Antarctica is a difficult place to do science. This is especially true for first-time, new investigators starting their careers. The proposed courses will introduce students to the hands-on "doing" of science under realistic Antarctic conditions. The major expectations from offering these training courses in Antarctica will be to introduce new researchers to the biological processes in that extreme environment and to train such students in modern research methods to understand the mechanisms that are unique to biology in Antarctica.

臭氧孔的生物学影响，关于全球变暖和温度适应的辩论以及冷生物圈中生物多样性的演变是南极科学研究的核心的一些重要主题。然而，很少有学生有机会在南极洲的现场研究科学，因为该大陆的遥远造成了明显的局限性。该项目将支持一系列高级培训课程，这些课程将在南极洲现场组织和教授。这些课程将向博士开放。对南极海洋生物的生物适应感兴趣的学生和博士后科学家。 2006年1月，2008年和2010年，在南极洲的五年期间，将为大约二十名学生提供三个澳大利亚夏季课程中的每门课程。这些课程将在美国南极南极计划的主要基地McMurdo Station举行。这个由NSF支持的研究站拥有适当的实验室，用于将在拟议的课程中进行的各种教育和学生研究活动。这些课程的主要目标是通过研究生命形式的多样性以及南极海洋生物的生物适应机制，将学生和新的博士后研究人员介绍南极科学。这些课程将向一组国际学生介绍各种南极生物，包括脊椎动物，无脊椎动物，藻类和微生物。在过去，在南极洲组织和教授此类高级教育计划经验的主要讲师将参与该计划的进一步目的是培训所有参与者在综合生物学方面的方法，通过他们研究冷生物圈中的独特生物学过程，从而跨越了几个不同水平的生物学组织。例如，将通过1）对整个生物体的生理研究来检查进化中的长期问题（例如，关于南极生物的生物学的生物学）； 2）研究分离的细胞和组织； 3）实验蛋白质结构和功能； 4）遗传系统的分子分析。这些南极课程将具有类似于过去在美国的海洋实验室提供的夏季课程的教育强度格式，这种方法非常成功地将新学生介绍给重要的生物学领域。南极课程的一般格式将包括现场收集和实验室实验，以及课程教职员工和嘉宾演讲者的Polar Science的许多讲座。南极课程期间要涵盖的一些特定主题将包括：生物多样性；生化适应；冷适应；能源代谢；分子系统发育；和紫外光生物学。这些主题将在课程中与独立的，学生启动的研究项目交织在一起。南极是科学的困难地方。对于首次新的调查人员开始职业生涯尤其如此。拟议的课程将向学生介绍在现实的南极条件下的科学“做”科学的“做”。在南极洲提供这些培训课程的主要期望是将新研究人员介绍在极端环境中的生物学过程，并以现代研究方法培训这些学生，以了解南极生物学独有的机制。