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

作为国际地球物理年（IGY）的一部分，在20世纪50年代末收集的麦克默多干谷（MCM）永久冰封湖泊的数据表明，它们是该大陆上唯一一个全年液态水环境。湖泊中的生物必须拥有新的生理策略，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“在极端条件下生存”，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提供后勤支持的南部春季和夏季。南极冬季永久寒冷和长期黑暗期间生理适应和代谢功能的独特方面仍然未知。作为“2007-2008国际极地年”（IPY）的一部分，拟议中的研究将在过渡到极夜期间研究泰勒谷内的湖泊，以测试总体假设，即黑暗的开始引起一连串的生理变化，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的选定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季节性过渡期间控制生态系统功能。该项目与国际和平年的目标直接相关，因为它与一个国际（联合王国、新西兰）多学科小组讨论了一个主要的确定主题（适应极端寒冷和长期黑暗中的生活）。该研究具有广泛的影响，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性研究人员。 该项目与麦克默多LTER支持的一个非常引人注目的教育、外联和人类多样性方案相联系，并启动了新的外联方案，包括知识护照方案。

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.