RAPID: Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon crude oil spill on the diversity of macroalgae and macrocrustaceans inhabiting deepwater hard banks in the NW, NE and SE Gulf of Mexico

该项目将使用两个为期五天的船基采样探险，以之前研究过的墨西哥湾硬岸为中心，评估漏油前后对生活在45-90米深处的近海海藻和大型甲壳类动物(如虾、蟹)的多样性、生命力和分布的影响。将目前的调查结果与该区域以前的调查结果进行比较，将有助于了解哪些海底海藻和甲壳类动物对油类污染最敏感，并能够预测它们随后从这场生态灾难中恢复的潜力。海藻是海洋生态系统中氧气的主要生产者，它们的死亡可能影响整个食物链，并导致整个墨西哥湾已经存在的“死区”扩大。与泄漏前采样的大型数据集相比，泄漏后底栖海藻和大型甲壳动物(以及其他无脊椎动物)的多样性、种群结构和繁殖能力的变化是可以测量的。对这些影响的检测和量化将反映石油泄漏在敏感的深滩环境中的潜在影响。从每次旅行中收集的所有材料都将被分类、识别，并将相关信息输入网络可访问的数据库。这项工作将涉及本科生和研究生。

This project will use two five-day-long ship-based sampling expeditions centered on previously studied hard banks in the Gulf of Mexico to assess pre- and post-oil spill impacts on the diversity, vitality, and distribution of the offshore seaweeds and macrocrustaceans (e.g. shrimp, crabs) living at depths of 45-90 meters. A comparison of the results of the current inventory with the inventories from previous surveys in the same region will be informative in terms of which species of benthic seaweed and crustaceans are most sensitive to oil pollution, and also allow predictions of their potential to subsequently recover from this ecological disaster.Marine algae are the principal producers of oxygen in the marine ecosystem, and their die-off may affect the entire food chain and result in the expansion of an already existing "dead zone" throughout the Gulf. Post-spill changes in the diversity, population structure, and reproductive capacity of benthic seaweeds and macrocrustaceans (and other invertebrates) are measureable when compared to a large dataset from pre-spill sampling. Detection and quantification of these effects will reflect potential impacts of the oil spill in sensitive deep bank environments. All material collected from each trip will be sorted, identified, and the associated information entered into web-accessible databases. This effort will involve both undergraduate and graduate students.