SGER: Preliminary Studies of Larval Transport using Small Moorings in Coastal Waters

该SGER奖项旨在确定停泊在俄勒冈州中部近岸(略高于冲浪区)的小型系泊设备的有效性，以确定与岸上招募模式和群落结构相关的幼虫丰度和运输模式。至关重要的是，必须获得系泊设施起作用的证据，并提供对近岸幼虫运输问题有重要影响的信息。门格博士同意海洋科学家群体的观点(反映在GLOBEC和COOP的使命声明中)，他认为，确定通过近岸区域的远洋和底栖环境之间的联系是生物海洋学家和海洋生态学家面临的最重要的问题之一。长期以来，浮游动物丰度的测定一直受到浮游生物斑块造成的极端时空变化的阻碍。使用经过长时间整合的幼虫诱捕器将提供幼虫估计，从而更准确地反映幼虫向底栖群落的传播模式。这项研究将使用廉价的系泊设施，停泊在离岸0.5至1公里之间的12 15米深的水域中，并将同时采样幼虫丰度、水流、水温、岸上沉降量和岸上温度。对系泊设施的测量将在水面和底部附近进行，以量化可能的幼虫分层和水柱中的物理条件，这可能与上升流和松弛期间岸上/离岸运输的模式有关。为了与更传统的海洋测量进行比较，每次监测系泊时，将使用标准方法(尼斯金瓶、CTD、浮游生物网)采样叶绿素a、物理条件和浮游动物丰度。卫星图像将被用来检查我们将进行较小规模抽样的较大规模的背景。这项工作将测试这些系泊是否将被证明是研究近岸生态和海洋过程的一种强大而廉价的工具，特别是与幼虫运输有关的过程。

This SGER award aims to determine the efficacy of small moorings anchored in the nearshore (just beyond the surf zone) of central Oregon for determining patterns of larval abundance and transport in relation to onshore patterns of recruitment and community structure. It is essential to obtain proof that moorings will work, and will provide information that can bear critically on the issue of nearshore larval transport. In agreement with the community of ocean scientists (as reflected in GLOBEC and CoOP mission statements) Dr. Menge contends that the determination of the link between pelagic and benthic environments through the nearshore region, heretofore a `black box,` is one of the most important problems facing biological oceanographers and marine ecologists. Determining abundances of zooplankton has long been hampered by extreme spatial and temporal variation due to plankton patchiness. The use of larval traps, which integrate over long times will provide larval estimates which more accurately reflect patterns of larval delivery to benthic communities. This study will employ inexpensive moorings, anchored in 12 15 m of water between 0.5 and 1 km offshore, and will simultaneously sample larval abundances, currents, water temperature, settlement onshore, and temperature onshore. The measurements on the moorings will be taken near the surface and near the bottom to quantify possible stratification of larvae and physical conditions in the water column, which may relate to patterns of onshore/offshore transport during upwelling and relaxation. For comparison with more traditional oceanographic measurements, chlorophyll a, physical conditions, and zooplankton abundance will be sampled using standard methods (Niskin bottles, CTD, plankton nets) each time the moorings are monitored. Satellite imagery will be used to examine the larger scale context in which our smaller scale sampling will take place. This work will test if these moorings will prove to be a powerful and inexpensive tool in studying nearshore ecological and oceanographic processes, particularly in relation to larval transport.