Collaborative Research: The Role of Planktonic Lower Trophic Levels in Carbon and Nitrogen Transformations in the Central Arctic, a MOSAiC Proposal

合作研究：浮游低营养级在北极中部碳和氮转化中的作用，MOSAiC 提案

• 批准号: 1824414
• 负责人: Robert Campbell
• 金额: $ 89.97万
• 依托单位: University of Rhode Island
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1824414&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Role; Planktonic; Lower

The ecology of Central Arctic remains poorly described, especially the "who eats who" world of the microscopic animals that spend their lives drifting in the water, the zooplankton. Zooplankton are eaten by fish, seabirds, and baleen whales, such as the bowhead whale, and are important members of the ocean food chain. The MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) project is a unique chance to investigate these understudied animals (zooplankton) over all four seasons of the year. Here is proposed to participate in the MOSAiC expedition with an international science team to study how the biology and environment of the Arctic affect the zooplankton, to understand their role in the ecosystem (for example, who do they eat and how much), and to describe how changes in the Arctic environment, such as loss of sea ice, may affect their survival. Broader Impacts: This understanding is needed to predict how environmental change might be changing the whole Arctic ecosystem from plankton to fish to seals to humans and if the unique ice-dependent ecosystem will still remain. There have been few year-long studies of the biology of the Arctic Ocean because it is very difficult to get there during the dark, long, cold winter. The PIs will reach out to some of our youngest audiences, K-3 students at North Falmouth MA Elementary, to share our fascination with the Arctic and to introduce the students to the planktonic world and to life and work on board a ship frozen into the ice. Substantial public outreach for the project will be led by the international MOSAiC team. A postdoctoral researcher and undergraduate students will also participate in the research.This proposal focuses on the planktonic lower trophic levels and will quantify the role that the mesozooplankton play in biological transformation and cycling of important elements (C, N) in the central Arctic Ocean ecosystem. Working together with an international team of scientists, the PIs will determine seasonal patterns in abundance, biomass, vertical distribution, and life stage structure for the entire zooplankton community using plankton nets and acoustic and optical methods. Key biological rate processes of important species will be measured experimentally to determine seasonal changes in food web dynamics and to better understand life cycle and survival strategies and how they are linked to production cycle timing. Trophic linkages will be determined using both isotopic ratios and molecular techniques. These rate processes and linkages then will be interpreted in the context of the abundance and distribution patterns, of the physical ocean environment, of sea ice quality and extent, and of season. Greater temporal and spatial context will be quantified through collaborations with MOSAiC modeling efforts. This study is novel in that it would result in the first quantification of the planktonic food web dynamics in the central Arctic through direct measurement of the important biological rate processes and will utilize both traditional and modern techniques to describe and quantify trophic linkages and carbon cycling.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

北极中部的生态仍然很糟糕，尤其是“吃谁”的微观动物世界，这些动物的生命在水中漂流在水中，浮游动物。浮游动物被鱼类，海鸟和巴林鲸（例如弓形鲸鱼）所食用，是海洋食物链的重要成员。在一年中的所有四个季节中，摩西式（北极气候研究的多学科漂流天文台）项目是研究这些研究研究的动物（Zooplankton）的独特机会。建议在这里与国际科学团队一起参加马赛克探险活动，以研究北极的生物学和环境如何影响浮游动物，以了解其在生态系统中的作用（例如，他们吃了谁以及饮食量），并描述北极环境中的变化如何影响海冰的损失，可能会影响他们的生存。更广泛的影响：需要这种理解来预测环境变化如何将整个北极生态系统从浮游生物变成鱼类，再到人类密封，以及是否仍然保留独特的冰依赖性生态系统。关于北极海洋生物学的长期研究很少，因为在黑暗，漫长，寒冷的冬天很难到达那里。 PI将接触到我们最年轻的观众，位于北法尔茅斯MA小学的K-3学生，分享我们对北极的迷恋，并向学生介绍浮游生物的世界，并在船上的船上和工作中的生活和工作。该项目的大量公众宣传将由国际马赛克团队领导。博士后研究人员和本科生也将参加研究。该提案重点介绍了浮游生气的较低营养水平，并将量化中龙兰克顿在中央北极海洋生态系统中中杂质隆克顿在重要元素（C，N）中发挥的作用。 PIS与国际科学家团队合作，将使用浮游生物网和声学和光学方法来确定整个浮游动物社区的丰富，生物质，垂直分布和生命阶段结构的季节性模式。重要物种的关键生物学速率过程将进行实验测量，以确定食物网络动态的季节性变化，并更好地了解生命周期和生存策略，以及它们如何与生产周期时机相关。营养连接将使用同位素比和分子技术确定。然后，这些速率过程和联系将在丰度和分布模式，物理海洋环境，海冰质量和范围以及季节的背景下进行解释。通过与马赛克建模工作的合作，将量化更大的时间和空间环境。这项研究是新颖的，因为它将通过直接测量重要的生物学速率过程进行首次量化浮游食品网络动态，并将利用传统和现代技术来描述和量化营养联系和碳循环。这种奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过评估了范围的范围。