Environmental Change and Biological Adaptation in the Ocean Workshop, May 7-9, 2010

知识价值海洋生物学将如何应对正在进行的全球变化驱动的海洋环境中的化学和物理变化目前尚不确定。然而，很明显，生物进化(适应)以及其他过程，如表型可塑性和表观遗传学，是对全球变化的潜在反应。这些过程在海洋系统中并没有被很好地理解，但可能是至关重要的，因为它们可以防止海洋生物群的灭绝或局部灭绝。因此，迫切需要考虑适应在迅速变化的海洋生态系统中的作用。然而，大多数海洋学家并不是进化生物学和进化理论方面的专家，反之亦然。为了解决这一问题，并开始弥合这一学科差距，研究人员于2009年10月召开了一次由国家科学基金会支持的催化研讨会。在这次讲习班上，15名受邀的海洋科学和/或进化生物学专家确定了一系列讨论优先事项，将在随后举行的一个更大的跨学科社区论坛上加以讨论。这些问题包括：进化论能否帮助预测海洋生物将如何应对全球变化？对于不同的类群和不同的环境，环境变化的临界速率是多少？表型可塑性的极限是什么？它与长期进化有什么关系？将代表海洋气候变化的许多复杂的、共同出现的环境因素如何相互作用来确定适合性？我们如何根据有关气候变化的进化论来解释海洋基因组？我们能用进化论来预测复杂、动态系统的后果吗？进化是否有助于缓冲生态系统对环境变化的反应？应生物海洋学计划的邀请，研究人员将于2010年5月在卡特琳娜岛的南加州大学箭牌研究所会议设施举行一次由NSF支持的约50名受邀参与者的研讨会，以解决这些悬而未决的问题。这样做的目的是在一个更大和更多样化的群体中加强和扩大催化研讨会的富有成效的讨论。这次研讨会将审查海洋科学界目前对全球变化对海洋生物影响的关切，并首次尝试就如何开始将进化生物学的基本原理纳入我们对这些过程的理解提出建议。核心指导委员会、最初较大的催化委员会和许多新邀请的研讨会参与者将由海洋全球变化生物地球化学和生物学、生物生理学以及公认的进化生物学权威组成。还将探索解决这些几乎未触及的问题的方法，范围从现代基因组学和蛋白质组学方法到实验室和田间实验和观察以及定量生物和生物地质化学建模。广泛影响指导委员会致力于促进科学多样性，并将积极寻求早期职业科学家、女性研究人员和代表性不足群体的成员参与。研究生和本科教育将通过鼓励我们的学生参加全体会议来进一步发展，全体会议也将向公众开放。向科学界传播我们的讨论结果将通过研讨会报告、向NSF项目经理和科学会议场所的口头陈述以及在高影响力同行评议期刊上计划的摘要文章来实现。科学和公众宣传都将通过在研讨会网站上张贴全体会议演讲大纲和幻灯片、我们的最终报告以及在线的一般受众摘要来实现。

Intellectual MeritHow marine biology will react to ongoing global change-driven chemical and physical alterations in the marine environment is presently uncertain. It is clear, though, that biological evolution (adaptation) as well as other processes such as phenotypic plasticity and epigenetics are potential responses to global change. These processes are not well understood in marine systems, but could be crucial because they can prevent extirpation or local extinction of marine biota. The role of adaptation in rapidly changing marine ecosystems thus urgently needs consideration. However, most oceanographers are not experts in evolutionary biology and theory, and vice versa. To address this question and begin to bridge this disciplinary gap, the investigators convened an NSF-supported catalytic workshop in October 2009. At this workshop 15 invited experts in marine science and/or evolutionary biology identified a set of discussion priorities to be addressed at a subsequent larger, interdisciplinary community forum. These included: Can evolutionary theory help predict how marine organisms will react to global change? What are the critical rates of environmental change for different taxa and different environments? What are the limits to phenotypic plasticity and what is its relationship to long-term evolution? How do the many complex, co-occurring environmental factors that will typify climate change in the oceans interact to determine fitness? How can we interpret marine genomes in light of evolutionary theories with regard to climate change? Can we use evolutionary theory to predict consequences for complex, dynamic systems? Does evolution contribute to buffering ecosystem responses to environmental changes?At the invitation of the Biological Oceanography Program the investigators will convene an NSF-supported workshop of about 50 invited participants, to be held at the USC Wrigley Institute conference facility on Catalina Island in May of 2010 that will address these open questions. The intention is to build upon and extend the productive discussions from the catalytic workshop in a larger and more diverse group. This workshop will examine the current concerns of the ocean science community about impacts of global change on marine biology, and try for the first time to craft recommendations about how we could begin to incorporate basic principles of evolutionary biology into our understanding of these processes. The coPIs on the core steering committee, the original larger catalytic committee, and many new invited workshop participants will consist of experts in ocean global change biogeochemistry and biology, organismal physiology, and also recognized authorities in evolutionary biology. Ways to address these almost untouched questions will also be explored, ranging from modern genomics and proteomics approaches to laboratory and field experimentation and observation and quantitative biological and biogeochemical modeling.Broader ImpactsThe steering committee is committed to fostering diversity in science and will actively seek participation by early career scientists, female investigators, and members of underrepresented groups. Graduate and undergraduate education will be furthered by encouraging our students to attend the plenary sessions, which will also be open to the public. Dissemination of our discussion findings to the scientific community will be accomplished through the workshop report, through oral presentations to NSF program managers and at scientific meeting venues, and a planned summary article in a high impact peer-reviewed journal. Both scientific and public outreach will be targeted on the workshop website by posting plenary talk outlines and slides, our final report, and a general audience summary online.