The Diatoms, Ostracodes, and Chironomids of Western Mongolia's Saline Lakes: Biodiversity, Ecology, and Research Applications

蒙古西部盐湖的硅藻、介形类和摇蚊：生物多样性、生态学和研究应用

• 批准号: 0316503
• 负责人: Mark Edlund
• 金额: $ 41.99万
• 依托单位: Science Museum of Minnesota
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-09-15 至 2007-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0316503&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Diatoms; Ostracodes; Chironomids; Western; Mongolia

Western Mongolia -- spanning the Altai Mountains, the Valley of the Great Lakes, and the western Khangai highland steppes -- is one of the world's most significant ecological and cultural regions. It contains a tantalizing variety of lakes ranging from fresh water to brines more saline than the oceans. The region is highly sensitive to climate variation, home to several rare and endangered animals, and the primary source of cashmere production in Mongolia by traditional nomads that are dependent on supply and quality of regional surface waters. The Mongolian government has striven to preserve these natural and cultural resources by strictly protecting large expanses of this region and registering the area on the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage List. In spite of these efforts, little is known of the region's biological diversity or of using the organisms as a measure of ecosystem health and change. Therefore, during two field expeditions in 2004 and 2005, an international team of scientists (Mongolia, USA, Belgium) will survey the distribution and biodiversity of diatoms, ostracodes, and chironomids of western Mongolia. These lesser known biological groups include algae (diatoms), the seed shrimps (ostracodes), and the non-biting midge insects (chironomids), which are among the most useful organisms for developing models to understand climate change and to evaluate water-quality. The biodiversity surveys will serve well in developing an ecosystem management program for protection and sustainable use of the singular Valley of the Great Lakes and the Altai and Khangai highlands.Fifty lake and stream systems will be sampled and are expected to yield about 400 diatom, 200 ostracode, and 200 insect composite collections. Samples will be studied using light and electron microscopes to identify approximately 450 to 600 species of diatoms, 50 species of ostracodes, and 50-60 species of chironomids. All groups are expected to have ten to twenty percent of the species described as new to science. Environmental data taken simultaneously with biological collections will allow calculation of species environmental preferences using multivariate statistical analyses, thereby laying the critical foundation for construction of water-quality and climate-change inference models. Results will be presented in four formats: conventional scientific papers; a set of regional floras and faunas; a website for quick dispersal of data and results to an international audience; and archives of collections, species distributions, and habitat descriptions in international museum collections and databases that are web-accessible. This project will provide infrastructural support for Mongolian collections and train two Mongolian graduate students and an American Ph.D. student through cooperative learning from US, Belgian, and Mongolian professionals to ensure a sound international scientific future for all countries involved. Lastly, because team members represent academic, research, and museum institutes, even broader audiences will be touched through exhibit programming and educational outreach.

蒙古西部--横跨阿尔泰山脉、五大湖河谷和西部的康爱高原草原--是世界上最重要的生态和文化地区之一。 它包含了诱人的各种湖泊，从淡水到盐水比海洋更咸。 该地区对气候变化高度敏感，是几种珍稀濒危动物的家园，也是蒙古传统游牧民族生产羊绒的主要来源，这些游牧民族依赖于该地区地表沃茨的供应和质量。 蒙古政府努力保护这些自然和文化资源，严格保护这一地区的大片土地，并将该地区列入联合国教科文组织生物圈保护区和世界遗产名录。 尽管作出了这些努力，但人们对该区域的生物多样性或利用生物体作为衡量生态系统健康和变化的尺度知之甚少。 因此，在2004年和2005年的两次实地考察中，一个国际科学家小组（蒙古、美国、比利时）将调查蒙古西部硅藻、介形虫和摇蚊的分布和生物多样性。 这些鲜为人知的生物群体包括藻类（硅藻）、种虾（介形虫）和非叮咬性的蠓类昆虫（摇蚊），它们是开发了解气候变化和评估水质的模型的最有用的生物之一。 生物多样性调查将有助于制定生态系统管理计划，以保护和可持续利用五大湖、阿尔泰和杭爱高地的独特山谷。将对50个湖泊和河流系统进行采样，预计将获得约400种硅藻、200种介形虫和200种昆虫复合标本。 将使用光学和电子显微镜对样品进行研究，以识别大约450至600种硅藻、50种介形虫和50-60种摇蚊。 预计所有群体都将有10%到20%的物种被描述为科学上的新物种。 与生物收集同时进行的环境数据将允许使用多变量统计分析计算物种的环境偏好，从而为水质和气候变化推断模型的构建奠定关键基础。研究结果将以四种形式呈现：常规科学论文;一套区域动植物群;一个向国际受众快速传播数据和结果的网站;以及国际博物馆收藏品和数据库中的收藏品、物种分布和生境描述档案。 该项目将为蒙古收藏提供基础设施支持，并培训两名蒙古研究生和一名美国博士。通过与美国、比利时和蒙古的专业人士合作学习，为所有相关国家提供良好的国际科学未来。 最后，由于团队成员代表学术，研究和博物馆机构，更广泛的观众将通过展览规划和教育推广。