Flow Mediation by Understory Kelp Beds: Consequences to Benthic Organisms

Eckman博士及其合作者一直在研究林下海带对水流的影响，以及它对主导浅水潮下岩石底层的悬浮饲养者的招募和生长的意义。在早期的研究中，他证明了：1）质量运输，2）颗粒沉积，3）悬浮饲养者的生长，以及4）悬浮饲养者的补充受到林下海带的存在的极大影响。对于所有物种的研究，增长是更大的海带树冠下比在附近的暴露区域和海带招聘的影响是显着的。持续的研究将阐明决定这些模式的流体动力学过程，并将检查可能导致观察到的治疗效果的非流体动力学协变量。几个假设的机制可能有助于观察到的模式。这些机制将在一系列的现场和实验室实验，将允许评估的相对贡献的水动力和非水动力过程的增长和招聘悬浮饲养生活在近岸岩石栖息地进行检查。这一更广泛的观点的发展代表了海洋生态学流体动力学研究的一个重要和合乎逻辑的进展。

Dr. Eckman and collaborators have been investigating the influence of understory kelps on flow, and its significance to recruitment and growth of suspension feeders that dominate shallow subtidal rocky substrata. In earlier research he demonstrated that: 1) mass transport, 2) particulate deposition, 3) growth of suspension feeders, and 4) recruitment of suspension feeders were greatly affected by the presence of understory kelps. For all species studied, growth was greater beneath kelp canopies than at nearby exposed areas and effects of kelps on recruitment were significant. The continuing research will elucidate the hydrodynamic processes that determined these patterns and will examine non-hydrodynamic covariates that may have contributed to the observed treatment effects. Several hypothesized mechanisms may have contributed to patterns observed. These mechanisms will be examined in a series of field and laboratory experiments that will allow assessment of the relative contributions of hydrodynamic and non-hydrodynamic processes to growth and recruitment of suspension feeders living in nearshore rocky habitats. Development of this broader view represents an important and logical progression in studies of hydrodynamics in marine ecology.