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

合作研究：RAPID：墨西哥湾海洋小型底栖动物物种分布的分类学和宏遗传分析

• 批准号: 1058489
• 负责人: Kenneth Halanych
• 金额: $ 3.88万
• 依托单位: Auburn University
• 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: 2010-09-01 至 2011-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1058489&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; RAPID; Taxonomic; metagenetic

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.

海洋沉积物蕴藏着世界上大部分的生物多样性，主要由微小的生物组成，它们具有重要的生态功能，如对碳氢化合物的生物降解至关重要的养分循环。不幸的是，对墨西哥湾这些生物群落的了解很少，因此无法对英国石油公司深水地平线漏油事件进行知情的缓解和补救。以知识为基础的行动需要解决三个关键问题：1)海湾的沉积物群落有多独特？2)海湾内的沉积物群落结构如何？3)人为干扰对这些群落的影响是什么？研究人员将采用尖端的高通量DNA测序技术，结合传统的分类学方法，对2010年4月漏油事件发生前收集的沉积物样本中几乎所有复杂生物的多样性进行分析，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”漏油事件代表了一个历史性的戏剧性人为事件。这将需要并激发未来几十年生物学家的兴趣。这笔资金将专门为学生参与生物多样性的长期表征提供新的机会，使用新的工具来了解生物体对环境变化的反应以及这种环境干扰的后果、缓解和补救。培训将包括支持本科生参加墨西哥湾生物多样性评估研讨会，以及研究生和博士后培训。在所有情况下，将积极鼓励代表性不足的群体参与科学。最重要的是，收集的所有数据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。