RUI: Pattern and process in four decades of change on Caribbean reefs

RUI：加勒比珊瑚礁四十年变化的模式和过程

基本信息

批准号：
2019992
负责人：
Peter Edmunds
金额：
$ 70.51万
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：
2020
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2020-10-01 至 2025-09-30
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2019992&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
RUI Pattern process four decades

项目摘要

The coral reef crisis refers to the high rates of death affecting tropical reef-building corals throughout the world, and the strong likelihood that coral reefs will become functionally extinct within the current century. Knowledge of these trends comes from the monitoring of coral reefs to evaluate their health over time, with the most informative projects providing high-resolution information extending over decades. Such projects describe both how reefs are changing, and answer questions addressing the causes of the changes and the form in which reefs will persist in the future. This project focuses on coral reefs in United States waters, specifically around St. John in the US Virgin Islands. These reefs are protected within the Virgin Islands National Park, and have been studied more consistently and in greater detail than most reefs anywhere in the world. Building from 33 years of research, this project extends monitoring of these habitats by another five years, and uses the emerging base of knowledge, and the biological laboratory created by the reefs of St. John, to address the causes and consequences of the bottleneck preventing baby corals from repopulating the reefs. The work is accomplished with annual expeditions, staffed by faculty, graduate students, undergraduates, and teachers, coupled with analyses of samples at California State University, Northridge, and Florida State University, Tallahassee. The students and teachers assist with the research goals at the center of this project, but also engage in independent study and integrate with the rich and diverse societal context and natural history of the Caribbean. The scope of the science agenda extends to schools in California, where students are introduced to the roles played by marine animals in ecosystem health, concepts of long-term change in the biological world, and the role of science engagement in promoting positive environmental outcomes. In addition to generating a wide spectrum of project deliverables focusing on scientific discovery, the project promotes STEM careers and train globally aware scientists and educators capable of supporting the science agenda of the United States in the 21st Century. This project leverages one of the longest time-series analyses of Caribbean coral reefs to extend the time-series from 33 to 38 years, and it tests hypotheses addressing the causes and consequences of changing coral reef community structure. The project focuses on reefs within the Virgin Islands National Park (VINP) and along the shore of St. John, US Virgin Islands, and is integrated with stakeholders working in conservation (VINP) and local academia (University of the Virgin Islands). Beginning in 1987, the project has addressed detail-oriented analyses within a small spatial area that complements the large-scale analyses conducted by the VINP. The results of these efforts create an unrivaled context within which ecologically relevant hypotheses can be tested to elucidate mechanisms driving ecological change. Building from image- and survey- based analyses, 33 years of data reveal the extent to which these reefs have transitioned to a low-abundance coral state, and the importance of the bottleneck preventing coral recruits from contributing to adult size classes. The intellectual merits of this project leverage these discoveries to address eight hypotheses: (H1) long-term changes are defining a cryptic regime change, with the low coral abundance reinforced by, (H2) enhanced community resilience, (H3) low post-settlement success, (H4) negative effects of peyssonnelid algal crusts (PAC) on juvenile corals, (H5) inability of juvenile corals to match their phenotypes to future conditions, (H6) impaired population growth caused by reduced genetic diversity, (H7) the premium placed on PAC-free halos around Diadema sea urchins for coral recruitment, and (H8) biotic homogenization occurring on a landscape-scale.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.

珊瑚礁危机是指影响全世界热带造礁珊瑚的高死亡率，以及珊瑚礁在本世纪内功能性灭绝的可能性很大。对这些趋势的了解来自对珊瑚礁的监测，以评估其随着时间的推移的健康状况，信息最丰富的项目提供了数十年的高分辨率信息。这些项目描述了珊瑚礁如何变化，并回答了有关变化原因以及珊瑚礁未来持续存在的形式的问题。该项目重点关注美国水域的珊瑚礁，特别是美属维尔京群岛圣约翰周围的珊瑚礁。这些珊瑚礁在维尔京群岛国家公园内受到保护，并且比世界上大多数珊瑚礁都得到了更一致、更详细的研究。该项目经过 33 年的研究，将对这些栖息地的监测又延长了五年，并利用新兴的知识基础和圣约翰珊瑚礁创建的生物实验室，来解决阻碍生态系统发展的瓶颈的原因和后果。珊瑚宝宝重新在珊瑚礁中繁殖。这项工作是通过由教职员工、研究生、本科生和教师组成的年度考察以及对加州州立大学北岭分校和佛罗里达州立大学塔拉哈西分校的样本分析来完成的。学生和教师协助实现该项目的中心研究目标，但也参与独立研究并融入加勒比地区丰富多样的社会背景和自然历史。科学议程的范围延伸到加利福尼亚州的学校，向学生介绍海洋动物在生态系统健康中发挥的作用、生物世界长期变化的概念以及科学参与在促进积极的环境成果中的作用。除了产生以科学发现为重点的广泛项目成果外，该项目还促进 STEM 职业并培训具有全球意识的科学家和教育工作者，以支持 21 世纪美国的科学议程。该项目利用加勒比珊瑚礁最长的时间序列分析之一，将时间序列从 33 年延长至 38 年，并测试了解决珊瑚礁群落结构变化的原因和后果的假设。该项目重点关注维尔京群岛国家公园 (VINP) 内和美属维尔京群岛圣约翰海岸的珊瑚礁，并与从事保护工作的利益相关者 (VINP) 和当地学术界（维尔京群岛大学）合作。从 1987 年开始，该项目在小空间区域内进行了以细节为导向的分析，以补充 VINP 进行的大规模分析。这些努力的结果创造了一个无与伦比的背景，可以在其中测试与生态相关的假设，以阐明驱动生态变化的机制。根据基于图像和调查的分析，33 年的数据揭示了这些珊瑚礁转变为低丰度珊瑚状态的程度，以及阻止珊瑚补充进入成年尺寸等级的瓶颈的重要性。该项目的智力优点利用这些发现来解决八个假设：（H1）长期变化正在定义一种神秘的政权变化，珊瑚丰度低，（H2）社区复原力增强，（H3）定居后低水平成功，(H4) 佩森内利德藻结皮 (PAC) 对幼年珊瑚的负面影响，(H5) 幼年珊瑚无法将其表型与未来的条件相匹配， (H6) 遗传多样性减少导致种群增长受损，(H7) 对迪亚德玛海胆周围不含 PAC 的光环进行珊瑚补充的重视，以及 (H8) 景观规模上发生的生物同质化。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，并被认为值得支持。