The Biology of Gelatinous Zooplankton: Investigations on the Trophic Relationships of Salpa thompsoni and Salpa gerlachei in the Southern Ocean

两种海鞘，Salpa thompsoni和S. gerlachei，出现在南极半岛附近的南大洋。众所周知，这两种植物都能形成巨大的藻华，几乎完全支配着生物量。了解这些物种的生物学知识对于理解南大洋中发生的营养关系和全球过程至关重要。该项目将调查这两种物种的摄食率、排便率、同化效率、生长、繁殖和代谢，以制定能量预算。海鞘的行为将在野外进行研究，实验室实验将结合这些野外观察结果。将在实验室和实地测量喂食率，并对结果进行比较。生长、繁殖和新陈代谢将在实验室进行测量。此外，将采用现场和实验室相结合的方法对海鞘的杂交片足类寄生虫进行检查。这些寄生虫对海鞘生长和繁殖的潜在影响也将被考虑。将在实验室观察几种南极鱼类，以研究对海鞘和其他胶状浮游动物的捕食。帕尔默站附近的许多鱼类以海鞘为食。鱼将被喂食已知数量的凝胶状猎物，并确定消化率。这些研究将通过肠道含量分析来评估鉴定和量化胶质生物残留物的能力。这些研究将为南大洋中作为浮游植物的消费者和其他生物的猎物的海鞘的营养地位提供重要的数据。这些研究为进一步研究南大洋浮游生物群落的补充和种群结构奠定了基础。此外，本文提出的研究将为海洋浮游动物如何应对南大洋季节性变化的食物资源提供基本信息。

Two species of salps, Salpa thompsoni and S. gerlachei, occur in the Southern Ocean near the Antarctic Peninsula. Both are known to form immense blooms that almost entirely dominate the biomass. A knowledge of the biology of these species is essential to understand the trophic relationships and global processes that occur in the Southern Ocean. This project will investigate the feeding rates, defecation rates, assimilation efficiency, growth, reproduction and metabolism of both species, in order to develop an energy budget. The behavior of salps will be studied in the field, and laboratory experiments will incorporate these field observations. Feeding rates will be measured both in the laboratory and in the field, and the results will be compared. Growth, reproduction and metabolism will be measured in the laboratory. In addition, the hyperiid amphipod parasites of salps will be examined using a combination of field and laboratory methods. The potential effect of these parasites on the growth and reproduction of salps will also be considered. Several species of Antarctic fish will be observed in the laboratory to study predation on salps and other gelatinous zooplankton. A number of fish that occur near Palmer Station feed heavily on salps. Fish will be fed known quantities of gelatinous prey, and digestion rates will be determined. These studies will assess the ability to identify and quantify the remains of gelatinous organisms with gut content analyses. These studies will provide important data on the trophic position of salps in the Southern Ocean, both as consumers of phytoplankton and as prey of other organisms. These studies are an essential prelude to further studies on recruitment and population structure in Southern Ocean planktonic communities. In addition, the research proposed herein will provide basic information on the ways in which oceanic zooplankton cope with the seasonally variable food resources of the Southern Ocean.