CREST-Postdoctoral Research Fellowship: Cross-Ecosystem Interactions and the Transport of Aquatic Contaminants to Terrestrial Food Webs within Mangrove Forests

CREST-博士后研究奖学金：跨生态系统相互作用和水生污染物向红树林内陆地食物网的传输

• 批准号: 1914750
• 负责人: Sean Kelly
• 金额: $ 20万
• 依托单位: Kelly, Sean Patrick
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-06-01 至 2021-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1914750&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CREST; Postdoctoral; Research; Fellowship; Cross

The Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology-Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (CREST-PRF) supports beginning CREST Center investigators and provides them with training and research experiences that will broaden perspectives, facilitate interdisciplinary interactions and establish them in positions of leadership within the scientific community. The CREST-PRF research project titled "Cross-Ecosystem Interactions and the Transport of Aquatic Contaminants to Terrestrial Food Webs within Mangrove Forests" is aligned with the goals of the CREST-Center for Aquatic Chemistry and Environment at Florida International University through its study of contamination of mangrove forests due to urbanization and natural causes. Because of their unique location at the intersection of freshwater, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems, mangroves serve as critical habitat for a wide range of aquatic and terrestrial organisms, while also providing important ecological services. The specific aims of this research is to characterize how mangrove food webs are affected by urbanization, as well as to measure the concentrations of contaminant metals moving from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystems via aquatic insects. The study is supported through the collaborative efforts of several research institutions and universities from southern Florida and Puerto Rico. Training of undergraduates and graduate students in conducting and disseminating research is part of the project's work, as is outreach to K-12 students and teachers and the general public, to enhance their understanding of important environmental issues that are relevant to their communities.The transfer of energy in the form of spatial subsidies (i.e. prey, detritus or nutrients) between aquatic and terrestrial food webs is critical for maintaining biodiversity and ecological functions within mangrove ecosystems. Natural and anthropogenic disturbances have significant effects on cross-ecosystem interactions by altering physical-chemical parameters in aquatic ecosystems. This study employs field studies and chemical analyses to delineate how urbanization affects cross-ecosystem interactions and the transport of aquatic contaminants to terrestrial food webs within mangrove forests during wet and dry seasons. Field work includes sampling urban and non-urban mangrove sites in southern Florida and Puerto Rico to determine significant changes in the composition of aquatic insect and orb-weaving spider assemblages, as well as to quantify the dietary contribution of aquatic insects and their correlation with concentrations of metals in orb-weaving spiders using stable isotope and trace metal analyses. In addition, bioassays are used to measure the effects on growth and emergence rates of non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) in response to increasing levels of salinity and metals. The taxa of aquatic insects and spiders that are the focus of the research have worldwide distributions and therefore findings can be used as a comparative model for other mangrove ecosystem studies around the globe.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.

科学和技术研究卓越研究中心的中心支持开始Crest Center的研究人员，并为他们提供培训和研究经验，这些培训和研究经验将扩大观点，促进跨学科的互动，并在科学界内的领导地位建立领导地位。 CREST-PRF研究项目的标题为“佛罗里达国际大学通过对城市化和自然原因的污染物进行污染的研究，佛罗里达国际大学的顶峰中心水上化学和环境环境中的顶峰中心的水上化学和环境环境中，佛罗里达州水上化学和环境环境的目标的目标是“跨生态系统相互作用以及水生污染物到红树林内部陆地食品网的运输”。由于它们在淡水，海洋和陆地生态系统的交汇处的独特位置，因此红树林是广泛的水生和陆地生物的关键栖息地，同时还提供重要的生态服务。这项研究的具体目的是表征红树林食品网如何受到城市化的影响，并测量通过水生昆虫从水生生态系统转移到陆地生态系统的污染金属的浓度。这项研究是通过来自佛罗里达州南部和波多黎各的几家研究机构和大学的合作努力来支持的。对K-12学生，老师和公众的宣传，对进行和传播研究的本科生和研究生进行培训也是该项目工作的一部分，以增强他们对与社区相关的重要环境问题的理解。红树林生态系统。自然和人为障碍通过改变水生生态系统中的物理化学参数，对跨生态系统相互作用产生重大影响。这项研究采用了现场研究和化学分析来描述城市化如何影响跨生态系统的相互作用以及在潮湿和干燥季节中水生污染物到红树林内陆地食品网的运输。现场工作包括在佛罗里达州南部和波多黎各取样城市和非城市红树林地点，以确定水生昆虫和孔织蜘蛛组合的组成的重大变化，以及使用稳定的金属质量分析和轨道培养蜘蛛的金属浓度来量化水生昆虫的饮食贡献及其与金属浓度的相关性。此外，生物测定法用于衡量对盐度和金属水平升高的响应，对非叮咬midges（双翅目：chiromidae）的生长和出现率的影响。作为研究重点的水生昆虫和蜘蛛的分类单元具有全球分布，因此，发现可以用作全球其他红树林生态系统研究的比较模型。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子和更广泛影响的评估来评估CRITEIA的评估。