Collaborative Research: ORCC: Saltwater Rising: Understanding how sea level rise affects coastal amphibians

合作研究：ORCC：盐水上升：了解海平面上升如何影响沿海两栖动物

• 批准号: 2307831
• 负责人: Molly Albecker
• 金额: $ 37.58万
• 依托单位: University of Houston
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-12-01 至 2026-11-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2307831&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; ORCC; Saltwater; Rising

Climate change is increasing the amount of salt of coastal freshwater habitats, driven by sea-level rise and intensified storm surges. Anurans (frogs and toads) play a pivotal role in wetland ecosystems and are presumed to be intolerant of saltwater, but recent syntheses indicate more salt tolerance than previously thought. This project improves our understanding of the limits of salt tolerance in anuran species occupying coastal habitats on two sea level rise fronts (Gulf and Atlantic coasts). The project uses an experimental approach that investigates multiple salinities, species, life stages, and levels of biological organization, providing data that can guide coastal managers and practitioners in improving coastal resilience and preventing biodiversity loss. Specifically, the study will identify life stage-specific mortality from salt stress across species to predict vulnerable life stages and breeding times. This research will determine whether species relatedness and ecological traits can predict salinity vulnerability and characterize the extent that the effects of saltwater at one life stage cascade across life stages. Finally, this study aims to understand how saltwater affects amphibian physiology across species and life stages, focusing on membrane permeability, hormones, and cellular processes. In summary, this research will produce diverse physiological, life history, phylogenetic, and genomic datasets that span across life stages and species to determine the salinity tolerance of anuran species that occupy coastal habitats with the goal of informing conservation actions and predicting climate change impacts. The project will also educate students and the public on various topics such as conservation and physiology. Climate change-driven sea level rise is increasing salinization of coastal habitats. Sea levels along the United States coastlines are predicted to rise between 50 and 100 cm in the next 70 years, with the east and gulf coasts facing intensified impacts. Anurans, or frogs and toads, are expected to be severely affected by salinity increases, as they are considered largely saltwater intolerant. However, salinity tolerance among amphibians is more variable than commonly considered, leaving uncertainty in the predictions of seawater inundation effects on coastal communities. To address these gaps, this research will focus on 10 anuran species with known populations within five miles of coastlines near Houston, Texas and Sapelo Island, Georgia. These locations are dual sea level rise fronts with low-elevation coastlines and freshwater wetlands expected to be inundated by the year 2050 under moderate sea level rise scenarios. The project will use a comparative approach to investigate how life history traits and evolutionary history affect stage-specific survival in higher salinities, how chronic saltwater exposure affects long-term growth, development, and fitness, and the physiological responses to saltwater exposure. This research will inform questions on how complex life cycles affect persistence in novel environments, how physiological mechanisms facilitate saltwater tolerance, and how chronic versus acute exposure affect survival and persistence. Additionally, this research will provide baselines for predicting how different coastal species will fare as sea level rise pushes saltwater further upriver and inland, which can guide coastal managers and practitioners to improve coastal resiliency and prevent biodiversity losses.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.

气候变化正在增加沿海淡水栖息地的盐量，这是由于海平面上升和暴风雨增长而驱动的。 Anurans（青蛙和蟾蜍）在湿地生态系统中起着关键作用，并被认为对盐水不耐受，但最近的合成表明，盐的耐受性比以前想象的要多。该项目提高了我们对在两个海平面上升阵线（海湾和大西洋沿岸）占据沿海栖息地的Anuran物种中耐盐物种的极限的理解。该项目采用了一种实验方法，该方法研究了生物组织的多种盐度，物种，生命阶段和水平，从而提供了可以指导沿海经理和实践者改善沿海弹性并防止生物多样性损失的数据。具体而言，该研究将确定跨物种盐胁迫的生命阶段特异性死亡率，以预测脆弱的生命阶段和繁殖时间。这项研究将确定物种相关性和生态特征是否可以预测盐度脆弱性，并表征盐水在一个生命阶段跨越生命阶段的级联的影响。最后，这项研究旨在了解盐水如何影响物种和生命阶段的两栖动物生理，重点是膜渗透性，激素和细胞过程。总而言之，这项研究将产生跨越生命阶段和物种的各种生理，生命史，系统发育和基因组数据集，以确定占据沿海栖息地的阿努兰物种的盐度耐受性，目的是为保护行动提供信息，并预测气候变化的影响。该项目还将教育学生和公众关于保护和生理等各种主题。气候变化驱动的海平面上升正在增加沿海栖息地的盐分。预计在接下来的70年中，美国海岸线的海平面将在50至100 cm之间上升，东部和墨西哥湾沿岸面临着不断增强的影响。由于被认为很大程度上被认为是盐水不耐受的，预计阿努族，或青蛙和蟾蜍会受到盐度增加的严重影响。但是，两栖动物之间的盐度耐受性比普遍认为的更可变，在海水淹没对沿海社区的影响的预测中留下了不确定性。为了解决这些差距，这项研究将集中在10种阿努拉物种上，在德克萨斯州休斯顿附近和佐治亚州萨佩洛岛附近的海岸线五英里以内已知人口。这些位置是双海平面上升阵线，其海岸线低，预计在2050年，在中等海平面上升的情况下，预计将被淹没。该项目将使用一种比较方法来研究生活历史特征和进化史如何影响较高盐度的阶段特异性生存，慢性盐水暴露如何影响长期的生长，发展和适应性以及对盐水暴露的生理反应。这项研究将为复杂的生命周期如何影响新的环境中的持久性，生理机制如何促进盐水的耐受性以及慢性暴露与急性暴露如何影响生存和持久性如何影响。此外，这项研究将为预测不同的沿海物种如何付出的基准，因为海平面上升将盐水推向进一步的上游和内陆，这可以指导沿海经理和实践者提高沿海弹性并防止生物多样性损失。这项奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并具有法定任务，并具有法定的任务。使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的审查标准，被认为值得通过评估来支持。