RAPID: Pacific Island Reefs Under Siege--An Undergraduate Training Partnership

RAPID：被围困的太平洋岛屿珊瑚礁——本科生培训合作伙伴

• 批准号: 1748616
• 负责人: Rebecca Ostertag
• 金额: $ 19.9万
• 依托单位: University of Hawaii
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-08-15 至 2023-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1748616&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Pacific; Island; Reefs; Under

The coral reefs of the Marshall Islands, some of the most pristine in the world, are endangered by algal blooms caused by contamination from human sewage and a rise in seawater temperature triggered by the last El Nino. These environmental hazards threaten the wellbeing of the Marshallese people and the health of the coral reefs. Scientists from the University of Hawaii at Hilo and the College of the Marshall Islands will map and analyze the algal blooms and establish a new system to monitor seawater temperature and its effect on coral reef bleaching. During the project, students and faculty from the College of the Marshall Islands will be trained in current methods for environmental science. This enhanced local expertise will mitigate the urgent need for ongoing monitoring of reef health. Poor infrastructure allows human sewage to leak into the lagoon enclosed by Majuro, the largest city on the Marshall Islands. This pollution fuels algal blooms that suppress the corals. In objective one, the team will analyze nutrients in water and use microbiological techniques to investigate and map the distribution of bacteria and algae involved. In addition to this anthropogenic stress, the reefs are endangered by one of the longest and most damaging seawater temperature rises on record. In objective two, the scientists will deploy monitors to measure seawater temperatures and correlate these with coral reef bleaching. There is a critical need to establish this monitoring system to provide baseline data against which future change can be assessed. The project will also have a sustained impact on building research capacity through the collaboration of faculty from the University of Hawaii and the College of the Marshall Islands. Collectively the faculty will provide STEM training for eight students from the College of the Marshall Islands. Increasing the local expertise through student training will be critical for resilience on the Marshall Islands, one of the Pacific Island groups at the forefront of environmental change. This award is being made jointly by The Division of Biological Infrastructure (Directorate for Biological Sciences), and The Division of Human Resource Development (Directorate for Education & Human Resources).

马歇尔群岛的珊瑚礁是世界上最原始的一些，受到人类污水污染和最后一个厄尔尼诺（El Nino）触发的海水温度升高而造成的藻华。这些环境危害威胁着马歇尔人民的福祉和珊瑚礁的健康。夏威夷大学希洛大学和马歇尔群岛学院的科学家将绘制和分析藻类开花，并建立一个新系统，以监测海水温度及其对珊瑚礁漂白的影响。在项目期间，马歇尔群岛学院的学生和教职员工将接受当前环境科学方法的培训。这种增强的本地专业知识将减轻持续监测礁石健康的迫切需求。不良的基础设施使人类污水泄漏到马歇尔群岛上最大的城市Majuro包围的泻湖中。这种污染为藻类开花，抑制了珊瑚。在目标中，团队将分析水中的养分，并使用微生物技术来研究和绘制涉及的细菌和藻类的分布。除了这种人为应力外，珊瑚礁还受到记录中最长，最具破坏性的海水温度升高之一。在目标第二，科学家将部署监视器来测量海水温度并将其与珊瑚礁漂白相关。建立此监视系统的迫切需要提供基线数据，以评估未来的变化。该项目还将通过夏威夷大学和马歇尔群岛学院的教职员工的合作对建筑研究能力产生持续影响。总体而言，教师将为马歇尔群岛学院的八名学生提供STEM培训。通过学生培训提高本地专业知识对于马歇尔群岛的韧性至关重要，马歇尔群岛是环境变化最前沿的太平洋岛屿群体之一。该奖项由生物基础设施（生物科学局）和人力资源开发部（教育与人力资源局）共同颁发。