LTER: MCM6 - The Roles of Legacy and Ecological Connectivity in a Polar Desert Ecosystem

LTER：MCM6 - 极地沙漠生态系统中遗产和生态连通性的作用

• 批准号: 2224760
• 负责人: Michael Gooseff
• 金额: $ 765万
• 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: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-09-01 至 2029-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2224760&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: LTER; MCM6; Roles; Legacy; Ecological

Non-technical AbstractThe McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER seeks to understand how changes in the temporal variability of ecological connectivity interact with existing landscape legacies to alter the structure and functioning of this extreme polar desert ecosystem. This research has broad implications, as it will help us to understand how natural ecosystems respond to ongoing anthropogenic global change. At the same time, this project also serves an important educational and outreach function, providing immersive research and educational experiences to students and artists from diverse backgrounds, and helping to ensure a diverse and well-trained next generation of leaders in polar ecosystem science and stewardship. Ultimately, the results of this project will help us to better understand and prepare for the effects of climate change and develop scientific insights that are relevant far beyond Antarctic ecosystems. The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs) make up an extreme polar desert ecosystem in the largest ice-free region of Antarctica. The organisms in this ecosystem are generally small. Bacteria, microinvertebrates, cyanobacterial mats, and phytoplankton can be found across the streams, soils, glaciers, and ice-covered lakes. These organisms have adapted to the cold and arid conditions that prevail outside of lakes for all but a brief period in the austral summer when the ecosystem is connected by liquid water. In the summer when air temperatures rise barely above freezing, soils warm and glacial meltwater flows through streams into the open moats of lakes. Most biological activity across the landscape occurs in summer. Through the winter, or polar night (6 months of darkness), glaciers, streams, and soil biota are inactive until sufficient light, heat, and liquid water return, while lake communities remain active all year. Over the past 30 years, the MDVs have been disturbed by cooling, heatwaves, floods, rising lake levels, as well as permafrost and lake ice thaw. Considering the clear ecological responses to this variation in physical drivers, and climate models predicting further warming and more precipitation, the MDV ecosystem sits at a threshold between the current extreme cold and dry conditions and an uncertain future. This project seeks to determine how important the legacy of past events and conditions versus current physical and biological interactions shape the current ecosystem. Four hypotheses will be tested, related to 1) whether the status of specific organisms are indicative ecosystem stability, 2) the relationship between legacies of past events to current ecosystem resilience (resistance to big changes), 3) carryover of materials between times of high ecosystem connectivity and activity help to maintain ecosystem stability, and 4) changes in disturbances affect how this ecosystem persists through the annual polar night (i.e., extended period of dark and cold). Technical AbstractIn this iteration of the McMurdo LTER project (MCM6), the project team will test ecological connectivity and stability theory in a system subject to strong physical drivers (geological legacies, extreme seasonality, and contemporary climate change) and driven by microbial organisms. Since microorganisms regulate most of the world’s critical biogeochemical functions, these insights will be relevant far beyond polar ecosystems and will inform understanding and expectations of how natural and managed ecosystems respond to ongoing anthropogenic global change. MCM6 builds on previous foundational research, both in Antarctica and within the LTER network, to consider the temporal aspects of connectivity and how it relates to ecosystem stability. The project will examine how changes in the temporal variability of ecological connectivity interact with the legacies of the existing landscape that have defined habitats and biogeochemical cycling for millennia. The project team hypothesizes that the structure and functioning of the MDV ecosystem is dependent upon legacies and the contemporary frequency, duration, and magnitude of ecological connectivity. This hypothesis will be tested with new and continuing monitoring, experiments, and analyses of long-term datasets to examine: 1) the stability of these ecosystems as reflected by sentinel taxa, 2) the relationship between ecological legacies and ecosystem resilience, 3) the importance of material carryover during periods of low connectivity to maintaining biological activity and community stability, and 4) how changes in disturbance dynamics disrupt ecological cycles through the polar night. Tests of these hypotheses will occur in field and modeling activities using new and long-term datasets already collected. New datasets resulting from field activities will be made freely available via widely-known online databases (MCM LTER and EDI). The project team has also developed six Antarctic Core Ideas that encompass themes from data literacy to polar food webs and form a consistent thread across the education and outreach activities. Building on past success, collaborations will be established with teachers and artists embedded within the science teams, who will work to develop educational modules with science content informed by direct experience and artistic expression. Undergraduate mentoring efforts will incorporate computational methods through a new data-intensive scientific training program for MCM REU students. The project will also establish an Antarctic Research Experience for Community College Students at CU Boulder, to provide an immersive educational and research experience for students from diverse backgrounds in community colleges. MCM LTER will continue its mission of training and mentoring students, postdocs, and early career scientists as the next generation of leaders in polar ecosystem science and stewardship. Historically underrepresented participation will be expanded at each level of the project. To aid in these efforts, the project has established Education & Outreach and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committees to lead, coordinate, support, and integrate these activities through all aspects of MCM6.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.

非技术摘要McMurdo Dry Valleys lter旨在了解生态连通性临时变化的变化如何与现有景观遗产相互作用，以改变这个极端的沙漠生态系统的结构和功能。这项研究具有广泛的含义，因为它将帮助我们了解自然生态系统如何应对正在进行的人为全球变化。同时，该项目还发挥了重要的教育和推广功能，为来自不同背景的学生和艺术家提供身临其境的研究和教育经验，并有助于确保多样性和训练有素的极地生态系统科学和管理领导者的下一代领导者。最终，该项目的结果将有助于我们更好地理解和准备气候变化的影响，并开发与南极生态系统相关的科学见解。 McMurdo Dry Valleys（MDVS）在南极最大的无冰区域构成了极端的极地沙漠生态系统。该生态系统中的生物通常很小。在溪流，土壤，冰川和冰覆盖的湖泊中，可以发现细菌，微脊椎动物，蓝细菌垫和浮游植物。这些生物已经适应了除澳大利亚夏季短暂时期生态系统通过液态水连接的澳大利亚夏季以外的所有湖泊外盛行的寒冷和干旱条件。在夏天，空气温度几乎不到冰点以上，土壤温暖而冰川的融水流过溪流进入开放的湖泊护城河。整个景观中的大多数生物学活动都发生在夏季。在整个冬季或极地夜晚（6个月的黑暗），冰川，溪流和土壤生物群都不活跃，直到足够的光线，热量和液态水返回，而湖泊社区全年保持活跃。在过去的30年中，MDV的冷却，热浪，地板，湖泊上升水平以及永久冻土和冰冻湖都受到了干扰。考虑到对物理驱动因素的这种变化的清晰生态反应，气候模型可以预测进一步的变暖和更准确性，MDV生态系统处于当前极端冷和干燥条件与不确定的未来之间的阈值。该项目旨在确定过去事件和条件与当前物理和生物学相互作用的遗产如何影响当前的生态系统。将测试四个假设，与1）有关特定生物的状态是否是指示性生态系统稳定性，2）过去事件与当前生态系统抵抗的遗产之间的关系（对大变化的抵抗力（对大变化的抵抗力），3）材料在高生态系统连接性和活动之间的交叉延长有助于维持生态系统稳定性，并影响到这一范围的周期，并影响着这种生态系统的影响。黑暗和寒冷）。技术摘要麦克默多项目（MCM6）的这种迭代，项目团队将测试由强大的物理驱动因素（地质遗产，极端季节性和当代气候变化）的系统中的生态连通性和稳定理论，并由微生物生物体驱动。由于微生物规范了世界上大多数关键的生物地球化学功能，因此这些见解将远远超出极地生态系统，并将告知人们对自然和托管生态系统如何应对持续的人为全球变化的理解和期望。 MCM6以先前在南极和lter网络中的基础研究为基础，以考虑连通性的临时方面及其与生态系统稳定性的关系。该项目将研究生态连通性暂时变化的变化如何与已定义栖息地和生物地球化学循环的现有景观的遗产相互作用。项目团队假设MDV生态系统的结构和功能取决于遗产以及生态连通性的当代频率，持续时间和幅度。该假设将通过对长期数据集进行的新的和持续的监控，实验和分析进行测试：1）这些生态系统的稳定性，如前哨分类群所反映的，2）生态遗产与生态系统复原力之间的关系，3）在维持生物学的疾病和社区中的疾病中，生态系统的恢复能力的重要性以及在生物学上的重要性的重要性，以及4.3）在维持生物学上的重要性，4在极地夜晚循环。这些假设的测试将在现场和建模活动中使用已收集的新和长期数据集进行。通过众所周知的在线数据库（MCM LTER和EDI），将免费提供由现场活动产生的新数据集。项目团队还开发了六个南极核心思想，这些思想涵盖了从数据素养到极地食品网的主题，并在整个教育和外展活动中形成一致的线索。在过去的成功的基础上，将与嵌入在科学团队中的教师和艺术家建立合作，他们将努力开发具有直接经验和艺术表达的科学内容的教育模块。大学心理工作将通过针对MCM REU学生的新数据密集型科学培训计划结合计算方法。该项目还将为CU Boulder的社区大学生建立南极研究经验，为来自社区大学潜水员背景的学生提供身临其境的教育和研究经验。 MCM lter将继续其培训和心理学生，博士后和早期职业科学家的使命，成为极地生态系统科学和管理领域的下一代领导者。从历史上讲，人为不足的参与将在项目的每个级别上进行扩展。为了协助这些努力，该项目建立了教育与宣传，多样性，公平和包容性承诺，通过MCM6的各个方面领导，协调，支持和整合这些活动。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子和广泛影响的评估来通过评估来支持的，并具有更多的支持。