RUI-LTREB Renewal: Three decades of coral reef community dynamics in St. John, USVI: 2014-2019

RUI-LTREB 更新：美属维尔京群岛圣约翰珊瑚礁群落动态三十年：2014-2019

• 批准号: 1350146
• 负责人: Peter Edmunds
• 金额: $ 46.97万
• 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: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-05-01 至 2020-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1350146&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; LTREB; Renewal; Three; decades

Describing how ecosystems like coral reefs are changing is at the forefront of efforts to evaluate the biological consequences of global climate change and ocean acidification. Coral reefs have become the poster child of these efforts. Amid concern that they could become ecologically extinct within a century, describing what has been lost, what is left, and what is at risk, is of paramount importance. This project exploits an unrivalled legacy of information beginning in 1987 to evaluate the form in which reefs will persist, and the extent to which they will be able to resist further onslaughts of environmental challenges. This long-term project continues a 27-year study of Caribbean coral reefs. The diverse data collected will allow the investigators to determine the roles of local and global disturbances in reef degradation. The data will also reveal the structure and function of reefs in a future with more human disturbances, when corals may no longer dominate tropical reefs. The broad societal impacts of this project include advancing understanding of an ecosystem that has long been held emblematic of the beauty, diversity, and delicacy of the biological world. Proposed research will expose new generations of undergraduate and graduate students to natural history and the quantitative assessment of the ways in which our planet is changing. This training will lead to a more profound understanding of contemporary ecology at the same time that it promotes excellence in STEM careers and supports technology infrastructure in the United States. Partnerships will be established between universities and high schools to bring university faculty and students in contact with k-12 educators and their students, allow teachers to carry out research in inspiring coral reef locations, and motivate children to pursue STEM careers. Open access to decades of legacy data will stimulate further research and teaching.

描述珊瑚礁等生态系统如何变化是评估全球气候变化和海洋酸化的生物学后果的最前沿。 珊瑚礁已成为这些努力的海报孩子。在担心它们在一个世纪内可能在生态上灭绝，描述已经丢失的东西，剩下的东西和有风险的东西至关重要。 该项目从1987年开始利用无与伦比的信息遗产，以评估珊瑚礁持续存在的形式，以及他们能够在多大程度上抵制对环境挑战的进一步袭击。这个长期项目继续对加勒比珊瑚礁进行了27年的研究。收集到的不同数据将使研究人员能够确定局部和全球干扰在礁石退化中的作用。当珊瑚不再主导热带礁石时，数据还将在未来具有更多人类干扰的未来揭示礁石的结构和功能。该项目的广泛社会影响包括对长期以来一直象征着生物世界的美，多样性和美味佳肴的生态系统的了解。拟议的研究将使新一代的本科生和研究生了解自然历史，并对我们星球的变化方式进行定量评估。这项培训将导致对当代生态学的更深刻的了解，同时它促进了STEM职业的卓越并支持美国的技术基础设施。大学和高中之间将建立伙伴关系，以使大学教师和学生与K-12教育者及其学生接触，使教师能够在鼓舞人心的珊瑚礁地点进行研究，并激励孩子从事STEM职业。开放获取数十年的旧数据将刺激进一步的研究和教学。