Biological and Physical Determinants of Euphausiid Aggregation, Behavior, and Interaction with Higher Predators at an Abrupt Topographical Feature in the Gulf of Maine

缅因湾突变地形特征中磷虾聚集、行为以及与高等捕食者相互作用的生物和物理决定因素

• 批准号: 0928801
• 负责人: Gareth Lawson
• 金额: $ 64.97万
• 依托单位: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-01-01 至 2013-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0928801&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Biological; Physical; Determinants; Euphausiid; Aggregation

Zooplankton are key members of marine ecosystems, but the biological and physical factors governing their distribution and aggregation are not fully understood, especially at the continental shelf break and margins of the deep basins of the shelf. Euphausiids are an important group of crustacean zooplankton in North Atlantic pelagic food webs and represent an interesting model species for the study of zooplankton aggregation due to their strong swimming capabilities and active aggregative behaviors. This project will address the hypotheses that the formation and variability of euphausiid aggregations along the northern flank of Georges Bank and the southern portion of the Gulf of Maine during fall relate to the interaction of physical concentration mechanisms with local topography and with plasticity in diel vertical migration and active aggregative behaviors, and that this plasticity arises from variability in food availability and predation by herring. These hypotheses will be addressed through a field program employing a comprehensive array of sensors, including both conventional narrowband and recently-developed broadband acoustic systems to sample the euphausiids, and a variety of other acoustic, optical, net, and other sampling devices to quantify their physical and biological environment. These sensors will be used in an inventive combination of (1) coarse-scale grid surveys to characterize along- and across-slope variability in the distribution of euphausiids, their predators, other zooplankton, phytoplankton, and physical conditions (e.g., the flow field), and (2) fine-scale adaptive surveys used to track individual euphausiid aggregations and observe how their three-dimensional structure and vertical position vary with changing environmental conditions. Repeat surveys will be timed to capitalize on known or likely variations in the flow field, food availability, light levels, and predation. The study will promote teaching, training, and learning via the participation of students at the graduate, undergraduate, and high school levels. The results will be disseminated via scientific publications and a session to be convened a national meeting. Descriptions of the work and its findings intelligible to a lay audience will be disseminated via a combination of web portals. The research will be further integrated with education by developing on-line lessons produced and distributed in collaboration with the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence Networked Ocean World. Benefits to society as a whole will arise from focusing on the interactions of euphausiids with herring, a commercially-important fish species, and on the pelagic ecosystem of the Georges Bank/Gulf of Maine complex, one of the world's most productive fishing areas.

浮游动物是海洋生态系统的关键成员，但对其分布和聚集的生物和物理因素尚未完全了解，特别是在大陆架断裂处和大陆架深盆地边缘。磷虾类是北大西洋浮游食物网中一类重要的甲壳类浮游动物，由于其较强的游泳能力和活跃的聚集行为，是研究浮游动物聚集的模式种。该项目将解决的假设，形成和变化的磷虾聚集沿着北方翼的乔治银行和南部的缅因州海湾在秋季涉及到物理浓度机制与当地地形和可塑性的相互作用，在昼夜垂直迁移和积极的聚集行为，这种可塑性产生的食物供应和捕食鲱鱼的变化。这些假设将通过采用传感器的全面阵列，包括传统的窄带和最近开发的宽带声学系统，以采样的南极磷虾，和各种其他声学，光学，网络和其他采样设备，以量化他们的物理和生物环境的现场程序来解决。这些传感器将用于以下的创造性组合：（1）粗尺度网格调查，以表征磷虾、其捕食者、其他浮游动物、浮游植物和物理条件（例如，流场），以及（2）用于跟踪单个磷虾集合体并观察它们的三维结构和垂直位置如何随环境条件的变化而变化的精细尺度适应性调查。重复调查将定时利用已知或可能的变化，在流场，食物供应，光照水平，和捕食。这项研究将通过研究生、本科生和高中学生的参与促进教学、培训和学习。研究结果将通过科学出版物和将召开的一次全国会议加以传播。将通过一系列门户网站传播对这项工作及其调查结果的描述，使外行人能够理解。这项研究将通过与海洋科学教育卓越中心网络海洋世界合作制作和分发在线课程，进一步与教育相结合。对整个社会的利益将产生从重点的相互作用磷虾与鲱鱼，一种重要的商业鱼类，并在乔治银行/缅因州海湾复杂的，世界上最具生产力的捕鱼区之一的远洋生态系统。