EL NINO-SOUTHERN OSCILLATION DISTURBANCES ON EASTERN PACIFIC CORAL REEFS: PATTERNS AND MECHANISMS OF RECOVERY

东太平洋珊瑚礁的厄尔尼诺-南方涛动扰动：恢复模式和机制

• 批准号: 0526361
• 负责人: Peter Glynn
• 金额: $ 125万
• 依托单位: University of Miami
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-10-15 至 2012-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0526361&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EL; NINO; SOUTHERN; OSCILLATION; DISTURBANCES

This comprehensive and interdisciplinary study, focusing on El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) disturbances to eastern Pacific coral reefs, will broaden understanding of the impact and responses of coral reef ecosystems to climate change, particularly sea warming events and associated perturbations. The project is led by Dr. Peter Glynn and builds on a 35-year database of physical and biological studies, and involves a coordinated Latin American/U.S. network of teams working principally in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador (mainland and Galapagos Islands). Intellectual merit. The chief objectives of this project are to continue and expand investigation into the causes of coral reef decline (both immediate and long-term), and the responses of reef coral populations, communities and ecosystem function in relation to ENSO disturbances. Key directions are investigations into mechanisms supporting documented rapid recovery, limitations to recovery that provide insight into ecosystem function, and the potential for eastern Pacific reefs to act as model systems to understand future impacts of global change in other reef systems. Three elements of special significance that justify continuation of this multifaceted study are:(1) the long-term data base of eastern Pacific coral reef structure and reef-associated community composition pre-dating the first documented coral bleaching events of the 1980s, (2) the causal relationship between global warming and reef degradation with demonstrable effects on coral community structure, coral growth and reef accretion, and coral framework erosion, and (3) assessing future response potential and the capacity for acclimatization/adaptation in light of cumulative past responses. New initiatives in the continuing project include (a) experiments relating coral reproduction and algal symbiont community structure during periods of temperature change, (b) characterization of deep reef thermal conditions vis-a-vis coral refugia, (c) field observations/experiments to compare effects of reef framework loss on metazoan recruitment, species diversity, and feeding rates, (d) coring reef frames to reveal taphonomic signatures of known ENSO events in order to determine the frequency of previous events, (e) relating carbonate chemistry of reef waters, e.g., pH, alkalinity and aragonite saturation states, to coral skeletal growth and density, (f) investigations into trophic structure complexity using N, C and S isotopes, (g) genetic structure of coral host and symbiont populations utilizing molecular and ribosomal DNA and protein electrophoresis to document shifts in thermally-tolerant groups, and (h) modeling of energy flow and ecosystem trophic processes and complexity. Broader impacts. Peer reviewed publications now number 60, contributing to the disciplines of oceanography, paleoecology/paleoclimatology, geology, disturbance ecology (community recovery, phase shifts), trophodynamics, population dynamics (coral reproduction and recruitment, modeling, genetic structure and connectivity), and symbiont ecology. To date, 107 graduate and undergraduate students from Panama, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia and the USA (plus 9 other countries) have participated in the project, resulting in the completion of 39 Ph.D. dissertations, M.S. theses and Honors reports. Students are trained in field methods for physical and biological sampling, species identifications, underwater and laboratory experiments (including instrumentation, design and data analysis), and train others in their respective countries. These studies of ecological processes have aided in the establishment and management efforts of marine protected areas in Costa Rica (Cano Island National Park), Panama (Coiba National Park), and Ecuador (Galapagos National Park). In addition to international efforts, collaborator Peggy Fong has mentored 2 to 6 undergraduate researchers per quarter at UCLA over the last 10 years, many of whom are under-represented minorities in the federally supported outreach program.

这项全面的跨学科研究侧重于厄尔尼诺-南方涛动(ENSO)对东太平洋珊瑚礁的扰动，将扩大对珊瑚礁生态系统对气候变化的影响和反应的了解，特别是对海洋变暖事件和相关扰动的了解。该项目由Peter Glynn博士领导，建立在一个35年的物理和生物研究数据库的基础上，并涉及一个拉丁美洲/美国的协调网络，该网络主要在哥斯达黎加、巴拿马、哥伦比亚和厄瓜多尔(大陆和加拉帕戈斯群岛)工作。智力上的优点。该项目的主要目标是继续和扩大对珊瑚礁衰退的原因(包括直接和长期的)的调查，以及珊瑚礁种群、群落和生态系统功能对ENSO干扰的反应。主要方向是对支持有据可查的快速恢复的机制进行调查，对恢复的限制提供对生态系统功能的洞察，以及东太平洋珊瑚礁作为模式系统的潜力，以了解全球变化对其他珊瑚礁系统的未来影响。有理由继续进行这项多方面研究的三个具有特殊意义的要素是：(1)东太平洋珊瑚礁结构和与珊瑚礁相关的群落组成的长期数据库，其时间早于1980年代第一次有记录的珊瑚白化事件；(2)全球变暖与珊瑚礁退化之间的因果关系，对珊瑚群落结构、珊瑚生长和珊瑚礁的增加以及珊瑚框架侵蚀的明显影响；以及(3)根据过去的累积答复，评估未来的应对潜力和适应/适应能力。正在进行的项目中的新举措包括：(A)关于温度变化期间珊瑚繁殖和藻类共生体群落结构的实验；(B)深海珊瑚礁热状况与珊瑚避难所的对比；(C)实地观测/实验，以比较珊瑚礁骨架丧失对后生动物补充、物种多样性和摄食率的影响；(D)取心珊瑚礁框架，以揭示已知ENSO事件的分类特征，以确定以前事件的频率；(E)将珊瑚礁水域的碳酸盐化学，例如pH值、碱度和文石饱和状态，与珊瑚骨骼生长和密度联系起来，(F)利用N、C和S同位素研究营养结构的复杂性；(G)利用分子和核糖体脱氧核糖核酸及蛋白质电泳法研究珊瑚寄主和共生体种群的遗传结构，以记录耐热群体的变化；以及(H)建立能量流和生态系统营养过程和复杂性的模型。更广泛的影响。经同行评审的出版物现在有60种，对海洋学、古生态学/古气候学、地质学、干扰生态学(群落恢复、相变)、营养动力学、种群动力学(珊瑚繁殖和补充、建模、遗传结构和连通性)和共生生态学等学科作出了贡献。迄今为止，来自巴拿马、厄瓜多尔、哥斯达黎加、哥伦比亚和美国(加上其他9个国家)的107名研究生和本科生参加了该项目，完成了39篇博士论文、硕士论文和荣誉报告。学生接受物理和生物采样、物种鉴定、水下和实验室实验(包括仪器、设计和数据分析)的实地方法培训，并在各自国家培训其他人员。这些对生态过程的研究有助于在哥斯达黎加(卡诺岛国家公园)、巴拿马(科伊巴国家公园)和厄瓜多尔(加拉帕戈斯国家公园)建立和管理海洋保护区。除了国际努力，合作者Peggy Fong在过去10年里每季度指导2到6名加州大学洛杉矶分校的本科生研究人员，其中许多人在联邦政府支持的外联计划中是代表不足的少数族裔。