The Role of in situ Productivity, Advection, and Microbial Activity in Organizing Contrasting Benthic Communities at McMurdo Sound Antarctica

群落生态学的一个基本目标是获得对影响群落种群动态的环境过程（生物和物理）的理解。在南极洲的麦克默多湾，底栖生物群落具有很强的东西和南北密度梯度。这些组合显然与初级生产的梯度有关。本研究的目的是解释生产力梯度如何在功能上与底栖生物系统联系起来。本研究将探讨原位生产和平流在影响群落结构方面的相对重要性。调查小组将检查底栖微生物和减量动物的营养关系，原生动物和减量动物的生态学，以及原位底栖动物生产。大型动物的研究将集中在招募、生长和生存方面。物理部分将针对区域环流和当地洋流模式。这种综合方法将提供关于自然环境如何影响底栖生物群落的信息。

A fundamental goal of community ecology is to derive an understanding of environmental processes (both biological and physical) which influence the dynamics of populations in a community. In McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, benthic community assemblages have strong east-west and north-south density gradients. These assemblages are apparently related to gradients in primary production. The objective of this research is to explain how productivity gradients are functionally linked to the benthic system. The study will examine the relative importance of in situ production and advection in influencing community structure. The team of investigators will examine benthic microbial and meiofaunal trophic relationships, ecology of protozoans and meiofauna, and in situ benthic production. Studies of the macrofauna will focus on recruitment, growth and survivorship. The physical component will be directed to regional circulation and local current patterns. This integrated approach will provide information on how the physical regime affects the benthic biological community.