Microbial Diversity and Functionality in Cold Water Coral Reef Ecosystems (MiCROSYSTEMS) (EuroDIVERSITY 83)

上世纪90年代末，在爱尔兰西部海域和最近摩洛哥海域发现了生长在碳酸盐土丘上的冷水珊瑚礁。从前寒武纪时代开始，土堆建造似乎是一种基本的但仍然神秘的生活策略。各种论据表明，微生物在珊瑚礁发育和生物多样性中发挥着重要作用。土丘可能起源于来自外部(海洋)和内部(地球流体)的通量的汇合点。2004年采集的长岩心表明，摩洛哥近海的‘Pen Duick’丘陵可以被认为是巨大的生物地球化学反应堆，在那里，微生物的活动表现为强烈的硫化氢排放。微系统公司建议通过以下行动和实验将彭迪克丘陵变成一个天然实验室：-通过地球物理和视频成像对生物多样性进行生物群落勘探和表征，有针对性的微生物概况，对现在和过去的海洋条件进行评估，-微生物多样性普查和通过后生动物物种分析、生物地球化学和分子指纹分析、实验室培养、动物-微生物相互作用分析、对微生物介导的碳酸盐沉淀过程的评估，-通过开发反应堆技术，模拟和评估微生态位的功能和环境变化的影响，评估生物多样性变化的影响。微系统项目与欧洲关于深水珊瑚生态系统养护的项目和IODP Expesion307项目密切接轨。该项目将促进欧洲-马格里布在摩洛哥边缘的合作，并为海洋生物普查方案内的国际海洋生物多样性综合管理倡议作出贡献。

Cold-water coral reefs thriving on carbonate mounds have been discovered in the late 90¿s off western Ireland and recently off Morocco. Mound building seems to be a fundamental but still enigmatic strategy of Life, developed since Precambrian times onwards. Various arguments suggest that microorganisms are playing a major role in reef development and biodiversity. Mounds may find their origin at the confluence of fluxes from external (oceanic) and internal origin (geofluids). Long cores taken in 2004 showed that the `Pen Duick¿ mounds off Morocco, in which microbial action was demonstrated by an strong emission of hydrogen sulfide, may be considered as giant biogeochemical reactors. MiCROSYSTEMS proposes to turn the Pen Duick mounds into a natural laboratory through the following actions and experiments:- Biotope exploration and characterization of biodiversity through geophysical and video imaging, targeted microbiological profiling, evaluation of present and past oceanic conditions,- Microbial diversity census and evaluation of the functional link microbes-metazoans through metazoan species analysis, biogeochemical and molecular fingerprinting, laboratory culturing, fauna-microbe interactions analysis, evaluation of microbially mediated processes of carbonate precipitation,- Assessment of the impact of biodiversity changes through the development of a reactor technology to simulate and assess the functionality of the micro-ecological niches and the impact of environmental changes.The MiCROSYSTEMS project closely dovetails with European projects on deep-water coral ecosystem conservation and with IODP Expedition 307. The project will foster a Europe-Maghreb cooperation on the Moroccan margin and contribute to the ICoMM initiative within the Census of Marine Life Programme.