LTER: Georgia Coastal Ecosystems-II

位于格鲁吉亚中部海岸的格鲁吉亚沿海生态系统（GCE）LTER计划成立于2000年。研究领域包括三个相邻的声音（Altamaha，Doboy，Sapelo），包括高地（大陆，屏障岛屿，沼泽吊床），潮间带（淡水，半咸水和盐沼）和淹没（河流，河口，大陆架）栖息地。在这个复杂的景观格局和过程中，空间上和站点之间的变化，并在多个尺度上（潮汐，昼夜，季节和年际）的时间。在这种空间和时间变化的基础上，还有气候变化、海平面上升和人类对景观的改变所造成的长期趋势。这些长期趋势可能会以多种方式表现出来，包括整个河口景观的水质、河流流量、径流和潮汐淹没模式的变化。GCE计划的首要目标是了解淡水和盐水的质量，来源和数量的变化在河口栖息地和过程中产生时空变异的机制，以预测将发生的方向变化，以响应河口盐度模式的长期变化。本项目周期的目标是：（1）继续记录沿海区环境强迫的长期模式，（2）将环境强迫与观测到的生物地球化学过程、初级生产、群落动态、分解和扰动的空间和时间模式联系起来，（3）探讨环境梯度沿着纵向变化的内在机制（淡水-咸水）和4）横向河口（高地-潮下带）轴驱动生态系统变化，（五）探讨幼虫运输的相对重要性和成年环境的条件，在确定社区和遗传结构的纵向和垂直河口的坡度为了实现这些目标，研究人员采用了一套方法，包括长期监测非生物驱动因素和生态系统响应;旨在使我们能够检查关键生态系统驱动因素的重要性的操纵和自然实验;以及建模。GCE推广的目标是提高教师和学生，沿海管理人员和公众对格鲁吉亚沿海生态系统的科学认识。GCE校园计划是建立在教育工作者的长期接触和指导，并已涉及40名教师到目前为止。在大学一级，本科生和研究生都定期纳入我们的工作，一些调查人员已经将GCE研究融入课堂。为了接触沿海管理人员，科学家们与格鲁吉亚沿海研究理事会（GCRC）合作，通过促进科学家和管理人员之间的信息交流，促进对格鲁吉亚沿海资源的科学管理。该中心有来自9所大学、6个联邦机构以及4个州和地区机构的代表。它主办讲习班，协助管理机构进行科学评估，并分发关于沿海问题的资料。为了接触公众，GCE科学家定期参加公共会议和研讨会，并与格鲁吉亚海岸的非营利组织合作，以解决公众感兴趣的问题。其他科学家和公众可通过网站（http：//gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/lter/）获取全球环境监测-远程环境试验项目收集的数据，该网站使用最先进的信息系统管理和显示关于研究地点、研究、分类、数据集、出版物和项目管理的信息。

The Georgia Coastal Ecosystems (GCE) LTER program, located on the central Georgia coast, was established in 2000. The study domain encompasses three adjacent sounds (Altamaha, Doboy, Sapelo) and includes upland (mainland, barrier islands, marsh hammocks), intertidal (fresh, brackish and salt marsh) and submerged (river, estuary, continental shelf) habitats. Patterns and processes in this complex landscape vary spatially within and between sites, and temporally on multiple scales (tidal, diurnal, seasonal, and interannual). Overlain on this spatial and temporal variation are long-term trends caused by climate change, sea level rise, and human alterations of the landscape. These long-term trends are likely to manifest in many ways, including changes in water quality, river discharge, runoff and tidal inundation patterns throughout the estuarine landscape. The overarching goal of the GCE program is to understand the mechanisms by which variation in the quality, source and amount of both fresh and salt water create temporal and spatial variability in estuarine habitats and processes, in order to predict directional changes that will occur in response to long-term shifts in estuarine salinity patterns. The objectives of the current project cycle are 1) to continue to document long-term patterns of environmental forcing to the coastal zone, 2) to link environmental forcing to observed spatial and temporal patterns of biogeochemical processes, primary production, community dynamics, decomposition and disturbance, 3) to investigate the underlying mechanisms by which environmental gradients along the longitudinal (freshwater-saltwater) and 4) lateral (upland-subtidal) axes of estuaries drive ecosystem change, and 5) to explore the relative importance of larval transport and the conditions of the adult environment in determining community and genetic structure across both the longitudinal and vertical gradients of the estuary. To meet these objectives, the investigators utilize a suite of approaches including long-term monitoring of abiotic drivers and ecosystem responses; manipulative and natural experiments designed to enable us to examine the importance of key ecosystem drivers; and modeling. The goal of GCE outreach is to enhance scientific understanding of Georgia coastal ecosystems by teachers and students, coastal managers, and the general public. The GCE schoolyard program is built around long-term contact and mentoring of educators, and has involved 40 teachers to date. At the college level, both undergraduate and graduate students are routinely incorporated into our work, and several investigators have integrated GCE research into the classroom. To reach coastal managers, the scientists partner with the Georgia Coastal Research Council (GCRC) to promote science-based management of Georgia coastal resources by facilitating information transfer between scientists and managers. The GCRC has representation from 9 Universities, 6 Federal agencies, and 4 State and regional agencies. It hosts workshops, assists management agencies with scientific assessments, and distributes information on coastal issues. To reach the general public, GCE scientists routinely participate in public meetings and workshops, and partner with non-profit organizations on the Georgia coast to address questions of public interest. Data collected by the GCE-LTER project can be accessed by other scientists and the general public via the website (http://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/lter/), which uses a state-of-the-art information system to manage and display information on study sites, research, taxonomy, data sets, publications, and project administration.