Experimental investigations of the giant colonies of Phaeocystis globosa in China

中国球形棕囊藻巨型菌落的实验研究

• 批准号: 0850910
• 负责人: Walker Smith
• 金额: $ 46.13万
• 依托单位: College of William & Mary Virginia Institute of Marine Science
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-04-01 至 2013-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0850910&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Experimental; investigations; giant; colonies; Phaeocystis

This project will investigate the mechanisms by which giant colonies of the haptophyte Phaeocystis globosa survive and grow in Chinese coastal waters. In recent years long-lived blooms along the Guangdong coast have formed and caused substantial fish kills in aquaculture cages, resulting in substantial economic losses to the local economies. The blooms are relatively predictable, in that they repeatedly occur in one location each year. One unique feature of the colonies of these Chinese blooms is their size: they reach up to 3 centimeters in diameter, an order of magnitude larger that any other known phytoplankter. As such, the colonies are subject to different physical factors, and aspects of their cellular/colonial physiology and carbon nutrition, nutrient uptake, and ecology must be much different than their smaller counterparts. Intellectual Merit.This collaborative project will involve an international investigation of the ecology of these giant Phaeocystis colonies in conjunction with colleagues from Jinan University. The investigators will specifically examine, the relationship among colonial cell abundance, density and carbon, mucous carbon, and colony size and the relationships among colony size and cell density with nutrient uptake and photosynthesis; the sinking rates of colonies as a function of colony size and physiological state; and Intracolonial fluid contents, including pH, O2, DOC, DMSP and how it influences sinking. This research will develop a theoretical framework for Phaeocystis globosa colonies that includes the effects of turbulence, diffusion, and sinking on carbon and nitrogen uptake, and use the experimental results as part of the theoretical development. The experimental program will be conducted at Jinan University, using samples of giant colonies collected near Guangzhou. Through the combined experimental and observational programs, the investigators hope to develop the beginnings of a predictive understanding of how this population thrives to such levels in these coastal waters. Giant colonies of P. globosa are the largest phytoplankton known, and represent one of the few planktonic autotrophs that extend into sizes that are influenced by turbulent motion; hence, a study of the colonies' ecology will represent a unique investigation of a novel adaptive mechanism: gigantism in phytoplankton. Broader Impacts.This project represents a collaboration between two countries and three institutions, all focused on a single, compelling scientific question. The US investigators will perform significant outreach activities within this project that include: 1) training a VIMS graduate student and a Jinan Visiting Professor in modern algal techniques; 2) participating in an undergraduate course at William and Mary entitled "Asian Environmental Issues" and highlight the role of harmful algal blooms in coastal Chinese waters; 3) teaching mini-courses on Phaeocystis globosa at two Chinese Universities (Jinan and Ocean University in Qingdao), and repeat the course at VIMS (available to all graduate students in the broader area at no cost); and 4 organizing an international symposium on the biology and ecology of Phaeocystis, to be held in China, with the symposium proceedings to be published in a peer-reviewed volume.

该项目将研究中国沿海水域中haptophyte Phaeocystis Globosa的巨大菌落生存并生长的机制。近年来，广东沿岸的长大盛开已经形成并在水产养殖笼中造成了大量的鱼类杀戮，从而给当地经济带来了巨大的经济损失。花朵相对可预测，因为它们每年在一个位置反复出现。这些中国花朵的殖民地的一个独特特征是它们的大小：它们的直径长达3厘米，比其他任何已知的浮游植物大的数量级。因此，菌落会受到不同的物理因素的影响，其细胞/殖民地生理学和碳营养，养分的吸收和生态学的各个方面必须与较小的同类物质大不相同。知识分子的功绩。该协作项目将涉及与Jinan大学的同事共同对这些巨大的Phaeocystis殖民地的生态进行国际调查。研究人员将专门研究殖民细胞丰度，密度和碳，粘液碳和菌落大小之间的关系，以及菌落大小和细胞密度与养分吸收和光合作用之间的关系；菌落的下沉率与菌落大小和生理状态的关系；以及殖民地液含量，包括pH，O2，DOC，DMSP及其影响下沉的含量。这项研究将开发一个理论框架，用于卵囊环球菌菌落，其中包括湍流，扩散和沉没对碳和氮的摄取的影响，并将实验结果用作理论发展的一部分。实验计划将在Jinan大学使用广州附近收集的巨型菌落样本进行。通过实验和观察计划的组合，研究人员希望开发对这些人群如何在这些沿海水域中升高到这种水平的开始。 Globosa的巨型菌落是最大的浮游植物，它代表了少数膨胀的自身噬菌体之一，该浮游生体扩展为受湍流影响的尺寸；因此，对殖民地生态学的研究将代表对一种新型适应机制的独特研究：浮游植物中的巨人。该项目代表了两个国家和三个机构之间的合作，这些项​​目都集中在一个引人入胜的科学问题上。美国调查人员将在该项目中进行重大的外展活动，其中包括：1）培训VIMS研究生和Jinan访问者的现代藻类技术； 2）参加威廉和玛丽的本科课程，名为“亚洲环境问题”，并强调有害藻类在中国沿海水域的作用； 3）在两所中国大学（青岛的Jinan and Ocean University）上教授小型演奏的小型演奏，并在VIMS重复课程（可供更广泛地区的所有研究生免费）； 4组织在中国举行的有关phaeocystis的生物学和生态学研讨会，并在同行评审的卷中发表研讨会程序。