CAREER: Using Otolith Chemistry to Reveal the Life History of Antarctic Toothfish in the Ross Sea, Antarctica: Testing Fisheries and Climate Change Impacts on a Top Fish Predator

职业：利用耳石化学揭示南极洲罗斯海南极齿鱼的生活史：测试渔业和气候变化对顶级鱼类捕食者的影响

• 批准号: 2141555
• 负责人: Cassandra Brooks
• 金额: $ 80.1万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-05-01 至 2027-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2141555&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Using; Otolith; Chemistry; Reveal

The Ross Sea, Antarctica, is one of the last large intact marine ecosystems left in the world, yet is facing increasing pressure from commercial fisheries and environmental change. It is the most productive stretch of the Southern Ocean, supporting an array of marine life, including Antarctic toothfish – the region’s top fish predator. While a commercial fishery for toothfish continues to grow in the Ross Sea, fundamental knowledge gaps remain regarding toothfish ecology and the impacts of toothfish fishing on the broader Ross Sea ecosystem. Recognizing the global value of the Ross Sea, a large (2 million km2) marine protected area was adopted by the multi-national Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in 2016. This research will fill a critical gap in the knowledge of Antarctic toothfish and deepen understanding of biological-physical interactions for fish ecology, while contributing to knowledge of impacts of fishing and environmental change on the Ross Sea system. This work will further provide innovative tools for studying connectivity among geographically distinct fish populations and for synthesizing and assessing the efficacy of a large-scale marine protected area. In developing an integrated research and education program in engaged scholarship, this project seeks to train the next generation of scholars to engage across the science-policy-public interface, engage with Southern Ocean stakeholders throughout the research process, and to deepen the public’s appreciation of the Antarctic. A major research priority among Ross Sea scientists is to better understand the life history of the Antarctic toothfish and test the efficacy of the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area (MPA) in protecting against the impacts of overfishing and climate change. Like growth rings of a tree, fish ear bones, called otoliths, develop annual layers of calcium carbonate that incorporates elements from their environment. Otoliths offer information on the fish’s growth and the surrounding ocean conditions. Hypothesizing that much of the Antarctic toothfish life cycle is structured by ocean circulation, this research employs a multi-disciplinary approach combining age and growth work with otolith chemistry testing, while also utilizing GIS mapping. The project will measure life history parameters as well as trace elements and stable isotopes in otoliths in three distinct sets collected over the last four decades in the Ross Sea. The information will be used to quantify the transport pathways Antarctic toothfish use across their life history, and across time, in the Ross Sea. The project will assess if toothfish populations from the Ross Sea are connected more widely across the Antarctic. By comparing life history and otolith chemistry data across time, the researchers will assess change in life history parameters and spatial dynamics and seek to infer if these changes are driven by fishing or climate change. Spatially mapping of these data will allow an assessment of the efficacy of the Ross Sea MPA in protecting toothfish and where further protections might be needed.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.

南极洲的罗斯海是世界上剩下的最后一个完整的海洋生态系统之一，但面临着商业渔业和环境变化的压力越来越大。它是南大洋最有生产力的延伸，支持一系列海洋生物，包括南极牙鱼 - 该地区的顶级鱼类捕食者。虽然在罗斯海的商业渔业继续生长，但关于牙鱼生态学以及牙鱼捕鱼对更广泛的罗斯海生态系统的影响仍然存在的基本知识差距。认识到罗斯海的全球价值，2016年，跨国委员会在跨国公司保护南极海洋生物资源的保护委员会采用了一个很大（200万公里）的海洋保护区。这项研究将填补对南极牙鱼的知识的关键空白，并深深地了解生物学相互作用的生物学相互作用，同时对鱼类生态学的生态学相互作用，同时促进造成捕捞和影响范围造成的众所周知，众所周知，众所周知的造成了众所周知的影响。这项工作将进一步提供创新的工具，用于研究地理上不同的鱼类种群之间的连通性，并综合和评估大型海洋保护区的效率。该项目在开发一项涉及科学的综合研究和教育计划时，旨在培训下一代学者在整个研究过程中跨科学 - 政策 - 公共界面互动，与南方海洋利益相关者互动，并加深公众对南极的欣赏。罗斯海科学家的主要研究重点是更好地了解南极牙鱼的生活史，并测试罗斯海海洋保护区（MPA）在防止过度捕获和气候变化的影响方面的效率。像树木的生长环一样，鱼耳骨头称为耳石，开发了碳酸钙的年度层，结合了环境中的元素。耳石提供有关鱼类生长和周围海洋状况的信息。假设南极牙鱼生命周期都是由海洋循环构成的，该研究采用了一种多学科方法，将年龄和生长工作与耳石化学测试相结合，同时还利用GIS映射。该项目将测量在罗斯海过去四十年收集的三个不同集合中，在耳石中，在耳石中的痕量元素参数以及痕量元素和稳定的同位素。该信息将用于量化南极牙鱼在其生活史中以及在罗斯海中的使用。该项目将评估来自罗斯海的牙鱼种群是否在整个南极之间更广泛地连接。通过在时间上比较生活史和耳石化学数据，研究人员将评估生活历史参数和空间动态的变化，并试图推断出这些变化是由捕鱼或气候变化驱动的。在空间上绘制这些数据将允许评估Ross Sea MPA在保护牙鱼方面以及需要进一步保护的地方的效率。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的智力优点和更广泛影响的审查标准通过评估来评估来支持的。