RAPID: Consequences of Rapid Environmental Change on Pelagic-to-Benthic Coupling by Sponges on the Continental USAs only Barrier Reef Ecosystem

快速：环境快速变化对美国大陆唯一的堡礁生态系统中的海绵与远洋与海底耦合的影响

• 批准号: 2347307
• 负责人: Mark Butler
• 金额: $ 18.73万
• 依托单位: Florida International University
• 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 2024-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2347307&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Consequences; Rapid; Environmental; Change

It's been hot, record hot in the Western Atlantic. In the shallow seas surrounding the Florida Keys, a region that harbors the world’s third longest coral barrier reef and the only one in the continental USA, water temperatures peaked in late July 2023 at 101F. Even at 30ft deep on the coral reef temperatures reached an unprecedented 90F, unleashing a wave of fish kills, corals bleaching, and dying octocorals and sponges. Marine scientists are concerned about the effects of this unprecedented climatic event on coral reefs in the Caribbean and Florida, and there has been a flood of media press as well. Yet, the focus has been almost exclusively on corals. Although corals provide the structural foundation for coral reefs, the functioning of coral reef ecosystems also depends on the health of other reef organisms. Of particular importance are sponges, which are key to capturing and recycling nutrients and carbon from the surrounding seas – a process referred to as “pelagic-to-benthic coupling”. This project (a) assesses the damage of the summer 2023 heatwave on shallow water and reef dwelling sponges in the Florida Keys, (b) tests the effects of high seawater temperatures and associated low oxygen levels on sponges, and (c) using those data, develops a model to help predict the effect of future heatwaves on sponges and the ecological services they provide to the ecosystem. The project includes training for undergraduate and graduate students at a minority-serving institution and public outreach and engagement with K-12 students through a partner NGO. Project results inform resource managers with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.Seawater temperatures in the Caribbean rapidly rose to unprecedented levels in summer 2023, unleashing a cascade of disturbance to coral reef ecosystems. The event galvanized scientists, resource managers, and the media into action but nearly all of that attention focused on corals. Corals provide the structural foundation for coral reefs, but the functioning of coral reef ecosystems as nutrient sinks and recyclers in otherwise oligotrophic seas is highly dependent on another taxon: sponges. Sponges are key to pelagic-to-benthic coupling and nutrient recycling on coral reefs and coastal backreef habitats, yet almost nothing is known of the effect of extreme environmental stress on sponge survival and function on coral reef ecosystems. The team is (a) using field surveys and leveraging pre-event baseline data to assess changes in sponge community structure across an inshore to offshore gradient in the Florida Keys; (b) using mesocosm experiments to examine the effects of elevated seawater temperatures and low dissolved oxygen on filtering of microbes, consumption of dissolved organic material, and fixation of nitrogen by sponges that differ in phylogeny, morphology, microbiome, or habitat; and (c) integrating these data to model projected changes in coastal and coral reef pelagic-to-benthic coupling. The results of this project advance understanding of the functional role of sponges in coral reef ecosystems in a changing climate.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.

天气很热，在西大西洋唱片很热。在佛罗里达钥匙周围的浅海中，该地区拥有世界上第三最长的珊瑚礁礁，也是美国大陆上唯一的珊瑚礁，水温于2023年7月下旬达到峰值。即使在珊瑚礁温度的30英尺深处也达到了前所未有的90F，释放了一波杀死鱼类，珊瑚漂白以及垂死的八角形和海绵。海洋科学家担心这一前所未有的杂交事件对加勒比海和佛罗里达州的珊瑚礁的影响，也有大量媒体出版社。但是，重点几乎完全放在珊瑚上。尽管珊瑚为珊瑚礁提供了结构性基础，但珊瑚礁生态系统的功能也取决于其他珊瑚礁生物的健康。尤其重要的是海绵，这是从周围海洋中捕获和回收养分和碳的关键，这一过程称为“ pelagic to pelagic to-the-the-the-theric耦合”。该项目（a）评估了2023年夏季在佛罗里达钥匙中浅水和礁石居住的海绵的损害，（b）测试高海水温度和相关的低氧气水平对海绵的影响，（c）使用这些数据，可以开发一种模型，以帮助预测未来热潮对海绵和ecogical Servist的影响。该项目包括通过合作伙伴的非政府组织对少数族裔服务机构的本科和研究生进行培训，以及与K-12学生的公众宣传。项目结果将资源经理通过佛罗里达钥匙国家海洋保护区为资源经理提供信息。加勒比海地区的空中温度在2023年夏季迅速上升至前所未有的水平，向珊瑚礁生态系统释放了一系列灾难。该活动使科学家，资源经理和媒体促进了行动，但几乎所有关注都集中在珊瑚上。珊瑚为珊瑚礁提供了结构基础，但是珊瑚礁生态系统的功能是其他橄榄型海中的营养水槽和回收者，高度依赖于另一个分类群：海绵。海绵是对珊瑚礁和沿海backreref栖息地上的骨耦合和营养循环的关键，但几乎没有什么知道极端环境压力对赞助商生存和功能对珊瑚礁生态系统的影响。该团队（a）使用现场调查并利用事件前基线数据来评估佛罗里达钥匙中近海跨越近海梯度的赞助商社区结构的变化； （b）使用中核实验检查海水温度升高和低溶解氧对微生物过滤的影响，消耗溶解有机材料的消耗以及通过在系统发育，形态学，微生物组或栖息地差异的海绵固定氮的影响； （c）将这些数据整合到模拟沿海和珊瑚礁骨耦合的预测变化的模型。该项目对海绵在不断变化的气候下在珊瑚礁生态系统中的功能作用的提前理解的结果。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准，被认为是通过评估来获得的支持。