Fundamental macroecology and energy pathways in the mesopelagic zooplankton and micronekton communities

中层浮游动物和微游生物群落的基本宏观生态学和能量途径

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-04905
• 负责人: Pakhomov, Evgeny
• 金额: $ 3.42万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=713918
• 关键词: Fundamental; macroecology; energy; pathways; mesopelagic

Greatest challenge marine scientists presently facing is concomitant with the ability of predicting oceanic ecosystem and food web responses to climate change and pollution impacts. These are both possible when changes are detected but meaningless unless they translated into policies and management actions. The twilight or mesopelagic zone (200-1000 m depth) comprises 20% of the Earth oceans volume. It is vast, currently underexploited and remains largely understudied. However, it holds a great ecosystem service potential for the food provision (food security), nutraceuticals (e.g. essential oils), climate regulation (climate change mitigation) and biodiversity (Earth system resilience). Mesopelagic layer is important in both controlling marine productivity and sequestering anthropogenic carbon dioxide. Biological processes (plankton trophic dynamics, vertical migrations, decomposing rates) are highly significant to air-sea interactions. A long-term goal of the proposed research is to develop a broad understanding of foundational ecological principles driving the composition, diversity, density and stability of the oceanic mesopelagic plankton and micronekton. First, we would like to identify the diss-/similarities in the structure and carbon cycling of mesopelagic zones in polar, temperate and tropical regions; second, to build an ecosystem model (future collaborative effort) that provides mechanistic links between epipelagic-mesopelagic-bathypelagic realms. Short term goals of the proposed study in the mesopelagic zone will (a) contribute to a characterization of the composition and vertical structure of mesopelagic plankton and micronekton; (b) link structure, density and diversity of mesopelagic food webs to overlaying productivity, as well as to oxygen concentrations and acidity; (c) quantify the role of the mesopelagic zone in transferring energy to upper trophic levels, including fisheries production, as well as carbon sequestration, particularly carbon active transport from surface layers into midwaters by different groups of micronekton, and the “cryptic food web” responsible for the reverse carbon transport from mesopelagic to epipelagic layers; and (d) assess our abilities in predicting effects of mesopelagic processes on overall ocean productivity as well as future fisheries productivity. By providing novel information on midwater food webs, this proposal will lay foundation for the development of an interdisciplinary, multinational initiative to understand the mesopelagic ecosystem, its role in the marine carbon cycle, its ability to react to climate change and pollution challenges as well to develop ecosystem-based management in the open ocean.

最大的Challene海洋科学与预测海洋生态系统的能力和食物网的恢复变化和挖掘能力是可能的。占地海洋的20％是粮食提供的巨大生态系统服务（粮食安全），营养素（例如精油），气候调节（缓解气候变化）和生物多样性（地球系统的恢复）二氧化碳对空气相互作用非常重要在极地和热带军团中；收缩和事故；（c）量化了中质区域在转移到上层奖杯水平的作用，包括渔业生产离子，尤其从中质渔业的生产力上的碳转运到同性恋层的碳运输。变革和污染挑战与公海中基于Assystem的管理一样。