Pelagic Communities of the Tropical Atlantic Ocean

就海洋生态系统和气候变化问题而言，大西洋热带地区是世界海洋数据库（华盛顿特区国家海洋学数据中心）中代表性最差的地区之一。然而，南部海洋生物研究所（乌克兰）拥有1959年至1989年前苏联进行的多次考察的大量数据档案。这些档案包括在19次主要考察中收集的4000多个生物样本，其中绝大多数被列为浮游植物、浮游动物和中远洋鱼类的物种水平。这些样品附有详细的物理和化学测量。该项目将允许一个由美国、乌克兰和俄罗斯科学家组成的团队制作一份关于上述探险的清单和数据库，以供广泛传播。该数据库将使通过海洋学站点、位置或分类群的信息能够完全访问、查看、分类和输出。项目参与者将利用汇编的数据库作为指导正在进行的实地研究的主要来源，进一步探索热带远洋群落的时空变化。由此产生的数据产品，包括丰度、生物量和物种多样性指数，将用于阐明热带大西洋群落结构与大气/物理影响之间的一般模式。目前的研究将通过为研究不足的地区提供一个庞大而详细的数据库，大大促进对热带海洋物种多样性的了解。未来对大西洋生物多样性和潜在气候变化影响的研究将从浮游植物、浮游动物和鱼类的详细分类分析中受益匪浅，这些将构成数据库的主要部分。

In terms of marine ecosystems and climate change issues, tropical regions of the Atlantic Ocean are among the most poorly represented in the World Ocean Database (National Oceanographic Data Center, Washington D.C.). However, the Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas (Ukraine) holds extensive data archives on the region from numerous former Soviet Union expeditions carried out from 1959 to 1989. These archives include over 4,000 biological samples collected on 19 major expeditions, the vast majority of which are enumerated to the species level for phytoplankton, zooplankton, and mesopelagic fish. Those samples are accompanied by detailed physical and chemical measurements. The project will allow a team of US, Ukrainian, and Russian scientists to produce, for broad dissemination, an inventory and database on the above expeditions. The database will enable full accessibility, viewing, sorting, and exporting of information by oceanographic station, location, or taxa. The project participants will further explore the spatial-temporal variability of tropical pelagic communities using the compiled database as a primary source for guiding ongoing field research. Resulting data products, including abundance, biomass, and species diversity indices will be used to elucidate general patterns linking community structure in the tropical Atlantic and atmospheric/physical influences. The present study will substantially advance understanding of species diversity in the tropical ocean by providing a large, detailed database for poorly studied regions. Future research on biodiversity and potential climate-change influences in the Atlantic Ocean will benefit greatly from the detailed taxonomic analyses of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish species that will comprise a major portion of the database.