Habitat connectivity: terrestrial and marine hotspots for seabirds, chemical biotransport, and the role of seabirds in coastal ecosystems

栖息地连通性：海鸟的陆地和海洋热点、化学生物迁移以及海鸟在沿海生态系统中的作用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2017-03842
• 负责人: Mallory, Mark
• 金额: $ 2.91万
• 依托单位: Acadia University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=687754
• 关键词: Habitat; connectivity; terrestrial; marine; hotspots

In Arctic and Atlantic Canada, coastal regions perform important ecological functions and provide critical wildlife habitat, but they are subject to increasing and novel anthropogenic stressors such as development, contamination, marine traffic, and climate change. A key question for scientists, managers and politicians is “how can we predict the effects of anthropogenic stressors on coastal wildlife populations and their habitats in these areas when so few data are available on their ecology and habitat needs?” My research program will build on my lab's experience and success in remote field work to test the overall hypothesis that key coastal and marine habitats for migratory birds are predictable, and are connected through bird behaviour and ecology, which ultimately leads to chemical connectivity across different spatial scales. Specifically, during the next 5 years, my lab will: (1) identify spatio-temporal variability of important coastal and marine wildlife habitats in Arctic and Atlantic Canada through the use of colony-based ecological research, telemetry devices and paleoenvironmental approaches; and (2) examine migratory birds as biovectors of contaminants to terrestrial environments from marine foraging areas through ecosystem-wide chemical analyses. ******To achieve these objectives, we will undertake telemetry studies on 3 species that are virtually unstudied in these regions (terns, kittiwakes, guillemots) to identify species-, sex- and colony-specific seasonal and annual habitat use. Additionally, we will merge these data with our previously gathered telemetry information on other Arctic marine birds to identify multi-species hotspots, and assess environmental factors that might influence the spatio-temporal occurrence of these key locations. We will also examine the biotransport of nutrients and contaminants from ocean to land, and specifically we will test for spatial, species-specific and temporal variation in types and concentrations of contamination in environmental archives at bird colonies (collaborating with international leaders in paleoenvironmental and contaminant research). ******My research program will result in a significant advancement in locating and defining key habitats for wildlife in Arctic and Atlantic Canada and how those habitats have changed through time. This unique information is vital for environmental assessment, marine protected area and land use planning projects, and for predictive modeling of future environmental conditions in key coastal habitats. As well, the environmental data on contaminants will be critical for assessing stores of contaminants at various locations, determining how and when birds moved these contaminants at different colonies, and modelling releases of those pollutants with changing climate and concomitant processes of melt and erosion.

在加拿大北极和大西洋，沿海地区执行重要的生态功能并提供关键的野生动植物栖息地，但它们会受到日益增加和新颖的人为压力源，例如发育，污染，海洋交通和气候变化。对于科学家，经理和政治学家来说，一个关键问题是“当我们在这些地区少于其生态和栖息地需求的数据提供的数据时，我们如何预测人为压力源对沿海野生动植物种群及其栖息地的影响？”我的研究计划将基于我的实验室在远程野外工作中的经验和成功，以测试总体假设，即迁徙鸟类的主要沿海和海洋栖息地是可以预测的，并且通过鸟类的行为和生态学连接，这最终导致不同空间尺度上的化学连通性。具体而言，在接下来的5年中，我的实验室将：（1）通过使用基于殖民地的生态研究，遥测式和古环境方法来确定重要的沿海和海洋野生动植物栖息地的时空变异性； （2）检查迁徙鸟类作为污染物到陆地环境的污染物的生物鸟类，从生态系统范围内的化学分析。 *****为了实现这些目标，我们将对在这些地区（Terns，Kittiwakes，Guillemots）实际上未被研究的3种物种进行遥测研究，以识别物种，性别和殖民地特异性季节性和年度栖息地使用。此外，我们将将这些数据与先前收集的有关其他北极海鸟的遥测信息合并，以识别多物种热点，并评估可能影响这些关键位置的空间发生的环境因素。我们还将研究从海洋到陆地的营养和污染物的生物转移，具体来说，我们将测试鸟类殖民地环境档案中污染的类型和污染物的空间，物种特异性和临时变化（与古环境和污染物研究中的国际领导者合作）。 ****我的研究计划将在北极和加拿大大西洋大西洋的野生动植物定位和定义关键栖息地以及这些栖息地如何随着时间的流逝而改变。这种独特的信息对于环境评估，海洋保护区和土地使用计划项目以及对主要沿海栖息地的未来环境状况的预测建模至关重要。同样，有关污染物的环境数据对于评估各个位置的污染物存储至关重要，确定鸟类如何以及何时在不同菌落处移动这些污染物，以及对这些污染物的释放，以变化的气候和融化过程的变化过程。