Collaborative Research: RAPID: Taxonomic and metagenetic analysis of species distributions for marine meiofauna from the Gulf of Mexico

海洋沉积物蕴藏着世界上大多数生物多样性，主要由执行营养循环等关键生态功能的微小生物组成，这些功能对碳氢化合物的生物降解至关重要。不幸的是，对墨西哥湾这些生物群落的了解很少，因此无法在知情的情况下缓解和补救英国石油公司深水地平线漏油事件。以知识为基础的行动要求解决三个关键问题：1)墨西哥湾沉积物群落有多独特？2)海湾沉积物群落结构如何？3)人为干扰对这些群落有何影响？将采用尖端的高通量DNA测序技术，结合传统的分类学方法，分析2010年4月漏油事件之前收集的沉积物样本中几乎所有复杂生物的多样性，这些样本代表了墨西哥湾不同的栖息地。英国石油公司深水地平线漏油事件代表着一场戏剧性的、具有历史意义的人为事件。这将需要并激发未来生物学家几十年的兴趣。这笔资金将特别为学生提供新的机会，让他们参与生物多样性的长期表征，使用新的工具来了解生物对环境变化的反应，以及这种环境干扰的后果、缓解和补救措施。培训将包括支持本科生参加墨西哥湾生物多样性评估讲习班，以及研究生和博士后培训。在所有情况下，都将积极鼓励代表不足的群体参与科学。最重要的是，收集到的所有数据都将向公众和科学界开放，以促进正在进行的研究，并最大限度地促进所有利益攸关方的参与。

Oceanic sediments harbor most of the world's biodiversity, primarily comprised of minute organisms that perform key ecological functions such as nutrient cycling, critical to the biodegradation of hydrocarbons. Unfortunately, knowledge of these communities of organisms in the Gulf of Mexico is sparse, thus precluding informed mitigation and remediation of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Knowledge-based action requires that three key questions be addressed: 1) How unique are the sediment communities in the Gulf? 2) How structured are the sediment communities within the Gulf? and 3) What has been the effect of anthropogenic disturbance on these communities? Cutting-edge, high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies will be employed, together with traditional taxonomic methods to assay the diversity of virtually all complex organisms from sediment samples collected prior to the April 2010 spill, representing diverse habitats across the Gulf of Mexico. The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill represents a dramatic anthropogenic event of historic proportions. It will both require and inspire the interest of future biologists for decades. This funding will specifically provide new opportunities for student engagement in the long-term characterization of biodiversity, using new tools to understand the response of organisms to environmental change and the consequences, mitigation and remediation of such an environmental disturbance. Training will include support for undergraduate students to attend a workshop in Gulf of Mexico biodiversity assessment as well as graduate and postdoctoral training. In all cases participation by underrepresented groups in science will be actively encouraged. Most importantly, all data collected will be made openly accessible to the public and scientific communities to facilitate ongoing research and maximize the engagement of all stakeholders.