RUI: An Inventory of Scaled Chrysophytes and Diatoms in Seepage Lakes Along the East Coast of the United States: A Basis for the Future Conservation of Microscopic Organisms

该项目的主要重点将是调查和清查从缅因州到佛罗里达州的沿样带的渗漏湖泊和池塘中的鳞片苔藓和硅藻区系，重点是缅因州沿海、科德角、卡罗莱纳湾地区和佛罗里达州中部。虽然沿着这条样带的每个地区的渗漏湖的起源不同，但它们都是相似的：酸性，缓冲能力差，钠和氯化物浓度高。我们计划对收集的藏品进行严格的检查，以便全面描绘每种植物群，描述新物种，获得稀有分类群的知识，并确定这些生物特别丰富和多样化的栖息地。我们将使用我们的数据来解决以下问题。为了保护这两个生物群落的生物多样性，每个区域内或所有区域之间需要留出多少水体并加以保护？在设计和实施保护和生物多样性管理计划之前，需要对这个问题有一个基本的了解。我们还将继续开发我们的万维网资源，利用可搜索的数据库来清点、存档和传播研究成果，扩大我们的重要分类群图片库，并继续扩大我们对这些硅质藻群的生态知识。最后，我们将培养一批本科生，对鳞藻和硅藻进行分类和鉴定的技术和方法的培训。

DEB-9972120Siver The primary focus of this project will be to survey and inventorythe scaled chrysophyte and diatom floras in seepage lakes and ponds alonga transect from Maine to Florida, with a focus on coastal Maine, Cape Cod,the Carolina Bay region and central Florida. Although seepage lakes fromeach region along this transect differ in their origin, they are similarin being acidic, poorly buffered, and high in sodium and chlorideconcentrations. We plan to critically examine collections in order tofully depict each flora, describe new species, gain knowledge on raretaxa, and identify habitats that are particularly rich and diverse withthese organisms. We will use our data to address the following question.How many waterbodies within each region, or between all regions, will needto be set aside and protected in order to conserve the biodiversitycontained within these two organismal groups? A basic understanding ofthis question is needed before conservation and biodiversity managementplans can be designed and implemented for these and other microscopictaxa. We will also continue to develop our World Wide Web-based resourcesto inventory, archive and disseminate research results using searchabledatabases, expand our library of images of important taxa, and to continueto expand our ecological knowledge of these siliceous algal groups.Lastly, we will train a group of undergraduates in the techniques andapproaches used in the taxonomy and identification of scaled chrysophytesand diatoms.