U.S.-Philippines Cooperative Research: Investigation into the Populational Structure of the Philippines Seagrasses

本提案要求提供资金，允许西雅图太平洋大学生物学教授Ronald C. Phillips博士与菲律宾共和国西利曼大学海洋实验室主任Hilconida P. Calumpong博士和Janet Estacion女士进行为期24个月的合作研究计划，以评估适应性耐受能力。5种菲律宾海草在各种近岸海岸环境中的生长速率、形态响应和移植成功率。在不同的水深、盐度、基质结构和海草种类组成梯度下，进行互惠和共同的海草园林移栽。对这些试验进行监测，以确定初始种植单元的面积范围、叶宽变化、平均叶/芽数、叶面积指数、繁殖物候和叶绿素含量，为期两年。此外，将对所有5种海草进行实验室实验，以评估来自供体地点以及对照、普通和互惠移植花园的耐热和耐寒范围。来自这些实验的数据应该使研究人员能够预测人类活动和自然现象对菲律宾海草的影响，并在受到不利影响的海岸线上启动有效的缓解措施。菲律宾的海草群落是各种海洋生物的栖息地和繁殖地，对当地人民具有重要的经济意义。菲律宾人摄入的蛋白质中约有60%来自鱼类和贝类，其中大部分来自海草草地。在浅海沿岸环境中不断增加的活动（疏浚、未经处理的污水、工业废物处理等）损害、减少甚至大量消灭了当地建立的海草种群。希望本项目将有助于菲律宾的海洋保护和海岸管理计划，并减少该国对外国援助的依赖。合作者是本研究领域备受尊敬的科学家。他们将得到史密森学会的Ernani G. Menez博士的协助，他将担任顾问。目前的项目将使这些科学家能够把他们的才能和兴趣结合起来，实现互利。该项目与“发展中国家科学项目”的目标相关，该项目旨在通过交流科学信息、思想、技能和技术，提高美国科学家和工程师与发展中国家同行之间的合作水平。和技术，并通过合作解决互利的问题。

This proposal requests funds to permit Dr. Ronald C. Phillips, Professor of Biology, Seattle Pacific University, to pursue with Dr. Hilconida P. Calumpong, Director, and Ms. Janet Estacion, Marine Laboratory, Silliman University, Republic of the Philippines, for a period of 24 months, a program of cooperative research to assess the adaptive tolerances, growth rates, morphometric responses, and transplant success of 5 species of Philippine seagrasses in a variety of nearshore coastal environments. Reciprocal and common garden transplants of seagrasses across gradients of water depth, water salinity, substrate textures, and seagrass species compositions will be conducted. Monitoring of these experiments to determine areal extent of the initial planting unit, changes in leaf width, mean number of leaves/shoots, leaf area index, reproductive phenology, and chlorophyll content will be conducted monthly for two years. In addition, laboratory experiments will be conducted on all 5 species of seagrasses to assess ranges of heat and cold tolerances from donor sites, as well as from control, common, and reciprocal transplant gardens. Data from these experiments should allow the researchers to predict the effects of human activity and natural phenomena on Philippine seagrasses and to initiate effective mitigation along coastlines that have become adversely impacted. Seagrass communities in the Philippines serve as habitats and breeding grounds for various marine organisms that are economically important to the local people. About 60% of the Filipinos' protein intake consists of fish and shellfish, much of which comes from seagrass meadows. Continuing increased activity (dredging, untreated sewage, industrial waste disposal, etc.) in the shallow coastal environment has impaired, reduced, and even decimated large portions of locally established seagrass stocks. Hopefully, the present project will contribute to a program of marine conservation and coastal management in the Philippines and reduce that country's dependence on foreign assistance. The collaborators are highly respected scientists in the field of this research. They will be assisted by Dr. Ernani G. Menez, Smithsonian Institution, who will serve as consultant. The present project will allow these scientists to combine their talents and interests for mutual benefit. This project is relevant to the objectives of the Science in Developing Countries Program which seeks to increase the level of cooperation between U.S. scientists and engineers and their counterparts in developing countries through the exchange of scientific information, ideas, skills, and techniques and through collaboration on problems of mutual benefit.