Collaborative Research: IPY- Plankton Dynamics in the McMurdo Dry Valley Lakes During the Transition to Polar Night

20世纪50年代末，作为国际地球物理年（IGY）的一部分，在麦克默多干谷（MCM）永久冰雪覆盖的湖泊上收集的数据表明，它们是南极大陆上唯一的全年液态水环境。湖泊中的生物必须具备新的生理策略，使它们能够在低温和长时间的黑暗中生存。随后的研究表明，湖泊中的大多数生物不仅“在极端环境中生存”，而且还在积极地进食、生长和繁殖。然而，几乎所有关于MCM湖泊的研究都局限于南方春夏季，当时有后勤支持。在永久寒冷和长期黑暗的南极冬季，生理适应和代谢功能的独特方面仍然未知。作为“国际极地年2007-2008”（IPY）的一部分，拟议的研究将研究泰勒谷内的湖泊，在过渡到极夜期间，以检验一个总体假设，即黑暗的开始会引起一系列生理变化，改变湖泊内自养和异养微型浮游生物的功能作用。这一总体主题将通过使用基因组和生理学工具对湖泊生态系统中选定的生物成分进行跨学科研究来解决，不仅要了解个体生物如何生存，还要了解它们如何在这个季节过渡期间控制生态系统功能。该项目与国际极地年的目标直接相关，因为它解决了一个国际（英国，新西兰）多学科团队确定的主要主题（适应极端寒冷和长时间黑暗中的生活）。这项研究具有实质性的更广泛的影响，因为它将以协同的方式增加MCM LTER和MCM微生物观测站项目积累的长期数据；它将包括三名本科生，一名研究生和两名年轻的女研究员。该项目与麦克默多教育部支持的一个引人注目的教育、推广和人类多样性项目相关联，并启动了新的推广项目，包括“知识护照”项目。

Data collected on the permanently ice-covered lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MCM) during the late 1950's as part of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) showed that they were the only year round liquid water environments on the continent. Organisms in the lakes must possess novel physiological strategies that allow them to survive at low temperature and under extended darkness. Subsequent research has now shown that most organisms in the lakes are not just "surviving the extremes" but are actively feeding, growing and reproducing. However, nearly all research on the MCM lakes is restricted to the austral spring and summer when logistical support is provided. The unique aspects of physiological adaptation and metabolic function during the permanently cold and prolonged darkness of the Antarctic winter remain unknown. As part of the "International Polar Year 2007-2008" (IPY), the proposed research will study lakes within the Taylor Valley during the transition to polar night to test the overarching hypothesis that the onset of darkness induces a cascade of physiological changes that alters the functional role of autotrophic and heterotrophic microplankton within the lakes. This overarching theme will be addressed through an interdisciplinary study of selected biological components of the lake ecosystems using genomic and physiological tools to understand not only how individual organisms survive, but how they control ecosystem function during this seasonal transition. This project is directly relevant to IPY objectives as it addresses a major identified theme (Adaptations to Life in Extreme Cold and Prolonged Darkness) with an international (UK, NZ),multidisciplinary team. The research has substantial broader impacts, as it will add to the body of long-term data accumulated by the MCM LTER and MCM Microbial Observatory projects in a synergistic manner; and it will include three undergraduates, a graduate student and two young female investigators. The project is linked to a highly visible education, outreach and human diversity programs supported by the McMurdo LTER, and initiates new outreach programs, including the Passport to Knowledge program.