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.

本项目将研究球形褐囊藻（Phaeocystis globosa）在中国沿海水域的生存和生长机制。近年来，广东沿海形成了长时间的水华，造成养殖网箱内大量鱼类死亡，给当地经济造成了巨大的经济损失。花是相对可预测的，因为它们每年在一个地方重复出现。这些中国花群的一个独特之处在于它们的大小：它们的直径可达3厘米，比任何其他已知的浮游植物都要大一个数量级。因此，菌落受到不同的物理因素的影响，它们的细胞/菌落生理和碳营养、营养吸收和生态方面必须与较小的同类大不相同。知识价值。该合作项目将与暨南大学的同事一起对这些巨型褐囊藻群落的生态进行国际调查。重点研究菌落细胞丰度、密度与碳、黏液碳和菌落大小的关系，菌落大小和细胞密度与养分吸收和光合作用的关系；蜂群下沉率与蜂群大小和生理状态的关系结肠内液体含量，包括pH、O2、DOC、DMSP及其对沉降的影响。本研究将建立一个包括湍流、扩散和下沉对球形褐囊藻菌落碳氮吸收影响的理论框架，并将实验结果作为理论发展的一部分。实验项目将在暨南大学进行，使用在广州附近收集的巨型蜂群样本。通过实验和观察相结合的项目，研究人员希望对这些种群是如何在这些沿海水域繁荣到如此水平的有一个预测性的理解。巨群的球形单胞藻是已知的最大的浮游植物，是为数不多的受湍流运动影响的浮游自养生物之一；因此，对菌落生态学的研究将代表对一种新的适应机制的独特研究：浮游植物的巨人症。更广泛的影响。这个项目代表了两个国家和三个机构之间的合作，都专注于一个引人注目的科学问题。美国研究人员将在该项目中开展重要的外展活动，包括：1)培训一名VIMS研究生和一名济南客座教授现代藻类技术；2)参加威廉玛丽大学的一门题为“亚洲环境问题”的本科课程，重点介绍中国沿海水域有害藻华的作用；3)在两所中国大学（暨南大学和青岛海洋大学）教授关于球形褐囊藻的迷你课程，并在VIMS重修该课程（向更广泛地区的所有研究生免费开放）；4 .组织在中国举办国际褐囊藻生物学与生态学研讨会，会议论文集将以同行评议的形式出版。