International Research Fellowship Program: Spatial and Interannual Variability in the Zooplankton Community of the Scotian Shelf

0502252约翰逊国际研究奖学金计划使美国科学家和工程师能够在国外进行三到二十四个月的研究。该计划的奖项提供了联合研究的机会，以及使用独特或互补的设施，专业知识和国外的实验条件。约翰逊与埃里卡博士合作。加拿大达特茅斯的贝德福德海洋学研究所所长。海洋生态系统中的浮游动物在浮游初级生产者和更高营养级，如鱼类，海鸟和海洋哺乳动物之间提供了关键的联系。浮游动物丰度的变化似乎与许多海洋区域的气候变化有关，但对驱动这些关系的机制知之甚少。拟议研究的目标是确定控制浮游动物丰度和群落结构的年际变化的过程，在西北大西洋的斯科舍架，并制定一个机械的理解气候对浮游动物种群的影响。三个互补的数据集，每个解决不同的空间和时间尺度，被用来描述浮游动物的空间和时间尺度的变化。具体的问题，解决包括（1）水的起源或原位生物过程有更大的影响，斯科舍架浮游动物的变化;（2）是否有可能控制在一个长时间序列的低空间分辨率的水团起源;（3）是平流从斯科舍架是一个很好的预测下游，缅因州湾，浮游动物的变化？以前的几项研究表明，运输和空间变异的斯科舍陆架水团可以影响浮游动物的变化，但是，通过控制水团，拟议的研究允许在原地过程的影响进行量化。了解浮游动物的年际变化是了解生态系统对气候的响应至关重要。侧重于不同空间和时间尺度的浮游动物数据集的综合提高了每个数据集的解释价值。拟议的研究确定了可能影响西北大西洋鱼类补充的浮游动物群落和丰度变化，并有助于在斯科舍大陆架发展基于生态系统的渔业管理。它还有助于确定斯科舍大陆架的生态重要区域，以进行养护，并确定能够最有效地重点关注长期浮游动物时间序列的代表性地点。

0502252JohnsonThe International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct three to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad.This award will support a twenty-two-month research fellowship by Dr. Catherine L. Johnson to work with Dr. Erica J. H. Head at Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, Canada.Zooplankton in marine ecosystems provide a critical link between planktonic primary producers and higher trophic levels, such as fish, seabirds, and marine mammals. Variability in zooplankton abundance appears to be related to climate variability in many ocean regions, but the mechanisms that drive these relationships are poorly understood. The objectives of the proposed research are to identify the processes that control interannual variability in zooplankton abundance and community structure on the Scotian Shelf, in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, and to develop a mechanistic understanding of climate effects on zooplankton populations. Three complementary data sets, each resolving different space and time scales, are used to characterize spatial and temporal scales of zooplankton variability. Specific questions that are addressed include (1) does water origin or in situ biological processes have a greater influence on Scotian Shelf zooplankton variability; (2) is it possible to control for water mass origin in a long time series of low spatial resolution; and (3) is advection from the Scotian Shelf is a good predictor of downstream, Gulf of Maine, zooplankton variability? Several previous studies suggest that transport and spatial variability of Scotian Shelf water masses can influence zooplankton variability; however, by controlling for water masses, the proposed research allows the influence of in situ processes to be quantified. Understanding zooplankton interannual variability is essential to understanding ecosystem responses to climate. Synthesis of zooplankton data sets focused on different spatial and temporal scales enhances the interpretive value of each data set. The proposed research identifies zooplankton community and abundance shifts that may affect fish recruitment in the northwest Atlantic, and it contributes to development of ecosystem-based fisheries management on the Scotian Shelf. It also facilitates identification of ecologically significant regions of the Scotian Shelf for conservation and representative locations where long-term zooplankton time series can most effectively be focused.