Experimental investigations of the giant colonies of Phaeocystis globosa in China

中国球形棕囊藻巨型菌落的实验研究

• 批准号: 0850910
• 负责人: Walker Smith
• 金额: $ 46.13万
• 依托单位: College of William & Mary Virginia Institute of Marine Science
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-04-01 至 2013-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0850910&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Experimental; investigations; giant; colonies; Phaeocystis

This project will investigate the mechanisms by which giant colonies of the haptophyte Phaeocystis globosa survive and grow in Chinese coastal waters. In recent years long-lived blooms along the Guangdong coast have formed and caused substantial fish kills in aquaculture cages, resulting in substantial economic losses to the local economies. The blooms are relatively predictable, in that they repeatedly occur in one location each year. One unique feature of the colonies of these Chinese blooms is their size: they reach up to 3 centimeters in diameter, an order of magnitude larger that any other known phytoplankter. As such, the colonies are subject to different physical factors, and aspects of their cellular/colonial physiology and carbon nutrition, nutrient uptake, and ecology must be much different than their smaller counterparts. Intellectual Merit.This collaborative project will involve an international investigation of the ecology of these giant Phaeocystis colonies in conjunction with colleagues from Jinan University. The investigators will specifically examine, the relationship among colonial cell abundance, density and carbon, mucous carbon, and colony size and the relationships among colony size and cell density with nutrient uptake and photosynthesis; the sinking rates of colonies as a function of colony size and physiological state; and Intracolonial fluid contents, including pH, O2, DOC, DMSP and how it influences sinking. This research will develop a theoretical framework for Phaeocystis globosa colonies that includes the effects of turbulence, diffusion, and sinking on carbon and nitrogen uptake, and use the experimental results as part of the theoretical development. The experimental program will be conducted at Jinan University, using samples of giant colonies collected near Guangzhou. Through the combined experimental and observational programs, the investigators hope to develop the beginnings of a predictive understanding of how this population thrives to such levels in these coastal waters. Giant colonies of P. globosa are the largest phytoplankton known, and represent one of the few planktonic autotrophs that extend into sizes that are influenced by turbulent motion; hence, a study of the colonies' ecology will represent a unique investigation of a novel adaptive mechanism: gigantism in phytoplankton. Broader Impacts.This project represents a collaboration between two countries and three institutions, all focused on a single, compelling scientific question. The US investigators will perform significant outreach activities within this project that include: 1) training a VIMS graduate student and a Jinan Visiting Professor in modern algal techniques; 2) participating in an undergraduate course at William and Mary entitled "Asian Environmental Issues" and highlight the role of harmful algal blooms in coastal Chinese waters; 3) teaching mini-courses on Phaeocystis globosa at two Chinese Universities (Jinan and Ocean University in Qingdao), and repeat the course at VIMS (available to all graduate students in the broader area at no cost); and 4 organizing an international symposium on the biology and ecology of Phaeocystis, to be held in China, with the symposium proceedings to be published in a peer-reviewed volume.

该项目将研究球形棕囊藻巨型菌落在中国沿海水域生存和生长的机制。近年来，广东沿海出现长效水华，造成网箱养殖鱼类大量死亡，给当地经济造成重大经济损失。花期是相对可预测的，因为它们每年都会在一个地方重复出现。这些中国水华群落的一个独特特征是它们的大小：它们的直径可达 3 厘米，比任何其他已知的浮游植物大一个数量级。因此，菌落受到不同的物理因素的影响，它们的细胞/菌落生理学和碳营养、营养吸收和生态学方面必须与较小的对应物有很大不同。智力成果。这个合作项目将与暨南大学的同事一起对这些巨大的棕囊藻菌落的生态学进行国际调查。研究人员将具体研究集落细胞丰度、密度与碳、粘液碳和集落大小之间的关系，以及集落大小和细胞密度与营养吸收和光合作用之间的关系；菌落下沉率与菌落大小和生理状态的函数关系；结肠内液体含量，包括 pH、O2、DOC、DMSP 及其对下沉的影响。这项研究将开发球形棕囊菌菌落的理论框架，其中包括湍流、扩散和下沉对碳和氮吸收的影响，并将实验结果作为理论发展的一部分。该实验计划将在暨南大学进行，使用在广州附近收集的巨型菌落样本。通过实验和观察相结合的计划，研究人员希望能够初步了解该种群如何在这些沿海水域繁衍生息到如此水平。球形 P. globosa 的巨型菌落是已知最大的浮游植物，是少数受湍流运动影响大小的浮游自养生物之一。因此，对群体生态的研究将代表对一种新的适应机制的独特研究：浮游植物的巨型化。更广泛的影响。该项目代表了两个国家和三个机构之间的合作，所有这些都集中在一个引人注目的科学问题上。美国研究人员将在该项目中开展重要的外展活动，包括：1）对一名 VIMS 研究生和一名济南客座教授进行现代藻类技术培训； 2) 参加威廉玛丽学院题为“亚洲环境问题”的本科课程，并强调中国沿海水域有害藻华的作用； 3) 在中国两所大学（济南大学和青岛海洋大学）教授球形棕囊藻迷你课程，并在 VIMS 重复该课程（免费向更广泛地区的所有研究生开放）； 4 在中国举办棕囊藻生物学和生态学国际研讨会，会议论文集将以同行评审卷形式出版。