Collaborative research: RUI-Ecology and functional biology of octocoral communities

合作研究：RUI-八珊瑚群落的生态学和功能生物学

• 批准号: 1332915
• 负责人: Peter Edmunds
• 金额: $ 64.62万
• 依托单位: The University Corporation, Northridge
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-09-01 至 2017-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1332915&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; research; RUI; Ecology; functional

The recent past has not been good for coral reefs, and journals have been filled with examples of declining coral cover, crashing fish populations, rising cover of macroalgae, and a future potentially filled with slime. However, reefs are more than the corals and fishes for which they are known best, and their biodiversity is affected strongly by other groups of organisms. The non-coral fauna of reefs is being neglected in the rush to evaluate the loss of corals and fishes, and this project will add on to an on-going long term ecological study by studying soft corals. This project will be focused on the ecology of soft corals on reefs in St. John, USVI to understand the Past, Present and the Future community structure of soft corals in a changing world. For the Past, the principal investigators will complete a retrospective analysis of octocoral abundance in St. John between 1992 and the present, as well as Caribbean-wide since the 1960's. For the Present, they will: (i) evaluate spatio-temporal changes between soft corals and corals, (ii) test for the role of competition with macroalgae and between soft corals and corals as processes driving the rising abundance of soft corals, and (iii) explore the role of soft corals as "animal forests" in modifying physical conditions beneath their canopy, thereby modulating recruitment dynamics. For the Future the project will conduct demographic analyses on key soft corals to evaluate annual variation in population processes and project populations into a future impacted by global climate change. The broader impacts of this project will be at multiple educational levels. At the university level, the project will have impacts on the quality of the academic environment at an RUI institution (CSUN) and a leading PhD-awarding institution (University of Buffalo). Additionally, it will provide unique opportunities for training and research by graduate students, as well as opportunities for undergraduate participation in fieldwork through existing funding and REU supplements. The PIs will build on an existing relationship with a high school in St. John, USVI since 2006. We will host: (1) marine biology club activities at the school through participation of faculty, a postdoctoral research associate and graduate students, (2) laboratory opportunities focused on the biology of soft corals, (3) field opportunities for teachers from the US to work in St. John, and (4) with the support of parents and CSUN, will offer a St. John field trip for select students from local schools. The reach of these opportunities will be broadened through new collaborations with two teachers based in the public schools of LA County. Finally, in the Caribbean established "ecocamps" at the host marine laboratory will be used to work with children from Caribbean islands to provide educational experiences focused on ecology and conservation.

最近的过去对珊瑚礁来说并不好，期刊上充斥着珊瑚覆盖率下降、鱼类数量锐减、大型藻类覆盖率上升以及未来可能充满粘液的例子。然而，珊瑚礁不仅仅是它们最出名的珊瑚和鱼类，它们的生物多样性受到其他生物群体的强烈影响。在急于评估珊瑚和鱼类损失的过程中，珊瑚礁的非珊瑚动物群被忽视了，该项目将通过研究软珊瑚来补充正在进行的长期生态研究。该项目将重点研究美属维尔京群岛圣约翰珊瑚礁上的软珊瑚生态，以了解不断变化的世界中软珊瑚的过去、现在和未来的群落结构。对于过去，主要研究人员将对 1992 年至今圣约翰以及自 1960 年代以来整个加勒比地区的八珊瑚丰度进行回顾性分析。目前，他们将：（i）评估软珊瑚和珊瑚之间的时空变化，（ii）测试与大型藻类以及软珊瑚和珊瑚之间的竞争在推动软珊瑚数量增加的过程中的作用，以及（ iii) 探索软珊瑚作为“动物森林”在改变其冠层下的物理条件，从而调节补充动态方面的作用。对于未来，该项目将对主要软珊瑚进行人口统计分析，以评估人口过程的年度变化，并将人口预测到受全球气候变化影响的未来。该项目的更广泛影响将涉及多个教育层面。在大学层面，该项目将对 RUI 机构 (CSUN) 和领先的博士授予机构（布法罗大学）的学术环境质量产生影响。此外，它将为研究生提供独特的培训和研究机会，并为本科生通过现有资金和 REU 补充参与实地工作提供机会。 自 2006 年以来，PI 将建立在与美属维尔京群岛圣约翰市一所高中的现有关系的基础上。我们将举办：(1) 通过教师、博士后研究员和研究生的参与，在学校举办海洋生物学俱乐部活动，(2 ) 专注于软珊瑚生物学的实验室机会，(3) 为美国教师提供在圣约翰工作的实地机会，以及 (4) 在家长和 CSUN 的支持下，将为选定的学生提供圣约翰实地考察机会来自当地学校的学生。通过与洛杉矶县公立学校的两名教师的新合作，这些机会的范围将得到扩大。最后，在加勒比地区，在东道主海洋实验室建立的“生态营”将用于与加勒比岛屿的儿童合作，提供以生态和保护为重点的教育经验。