Collaborative Research: The cryptic diet of the globally significant pelagic tunicate Dolioletta gegenbauri (Uljanin, 1884).

合作研究：全球重要的远洋被囊动物 Dolioletta gegenbauri 的神秘饮食（Uljanin，1884）。

• 批准号: 1459510
• 负责人: Deidre Gibson
• 金额: $ 19.02万
• 依托单位: Hampton University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-03-01 至 2019-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1459510&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; cryptic; diet; globally

Gelatinous (soft-bodied) zooplankton can play a crucial role in food webs and in cycling of materials in the world's oceans, and it has been suggested that they may become even more important in the future. However, because they are so difficult to study, gelatinous species remain poorly understood. This is especially true for smaller filter feeding gelatinous animals such as pelagic tunicates (salps, larvaceans, and doliolids). For example, it remains unclear what and how much these abundant filter feeders eat in nature and who eats them. This project will address this large and significant knowledge gap by using a combination of new and traditional methods to investigate the diet of the gelatinous pelagic tunicate Dolioletti gegenbauri, a species common on productive continental shelves such as the South Atlantic Bight. This project will also help train the next generation of ocean scientists to be competent in classical biology, modern molecular biology, and ecosystem modeling. Training will also focus on increasing representation of African Americans in the future science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce.This study will provide the first quantitative estimates of the in situ diet of a key continental shelf gelatinous zooplankton species, the doliolid Dolioletta gegenbauri. Large blooms of doliolids have the potential to control the trophic structure of shelf pelagic ecosystems by shunting primary production to the microbial food web and by limiting copepod production via the consumption of their eggs. The long-term objective is to understand the ecological role and significance of doliolids in continental shelf pelagic ecosystems, specifically the underlying processes that lead to their high level of spatial and temporal patchiness. The basic questions to be addressed here include: What do doliolids eat, in situ, at different life stages? Are early life stages of larger metazoans important components of their diets? Do doliolids act as trophic cascade agents promoting primary production and phytoplankton diversity? Because of methodological challenges, there have not yet been definitive studies addressing these fundamental questions. In this project, the investigators will conduct field-based studies that will combine state-of-the art molecular techniques with more traditional methods in zooplankton ecology to answer questions about trophic interactions. Monthly oceanographic expeditions in the South Atlantic Bight will allow the research team to study wild doliolids at different time points in their life cycle and under different plankton bloom conditions. Application of recently developed molecular diagnostic assays will enable the quantitative description of the diversity and quantity of prey consumed, unbiased by experimental manipulation. Additional experimental and theoretical modeling will allow the investigators to link these data with larger ecological significance and scale.

凝胶状（柔软）浮游动物可以在食物网和世界海洋材料骑自行车中发挥关键作用，并且有人建议它们在将来可能变得更加重要。但是，由于它们很难研究，因此凝胶状物种仍然很少理解。对于较小的过滤器喂食凝胶状动物，例如肾上腺外膜（sal，幼虫和doliolids），尤其如此。例如，目前尚不清楚这些丰富的过滤器喂食器在大自然中吃了多少和多少。该项目将通过使用新的和传统方法的组合来研究这个庞大而重要的知识差距，以研究凝胶状型皮肤剪裁的饮食Dolioletti Gegenbauri，这是一种在南大西洋野事等生产性大陆架子上常见的物种。该项目还将帮助培训下一代海洋科学家，以胜任古典生物学，现代分子生物学和生态系统建模。培训还将集中于增加非洲裔美国人在未来的科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）劳动力中的代表性。这项研究将对主要的大陆架子质浮游浮游生物物种（Doliolid Doliolid Dolioletta Gegenbauri）提供首次定量估计。大量的多醇植物有可能通过将初级生产转移到微生物食品网中，并通过消耗卵子来控制货架上层生态系统的营养结构。长期目标是了解大陆架层生态系统中多醇的生态作用和意义，特别是导致其高水平的空间和时间斑点的基础过程。这里要解决的基本问题包括：Doliolids在不同的生活阶段吃什么？大型后生动物的早期阶段是否是饮食的重要组成部分？ doliolids是否充当促进初级生产和浮游植物多样性的营养级联代理？由于方法上的挑战，尚未有针对这些基本问题的确定研究。在该项目中，研究人员将进行基于现场的研究，以将最先进的分子技术与浮游动物生态学中更传统的方法相结合，以回答有关营养相互作用的问题。南大西洋野战赛的每月海洋学探险将使研究小组可以在其生命周期和不同的浮游生气条件下的不同时间点学习野生doliolids。最近开发的分子诊断测定法的应用将使能够对消耗的猎物的多样性和数量进行定量描述，这是通过实验操作无偏见的。其他实验和理论建模将使研究人员可以将这些数据与更大的生态意义和规模联系起来。