MRI RAPID: Acquisition of a FlowCAM for Concurrent Analysis of Marine and Estuarine Hydrocarbon Particles, Microbe and Microinvertebrate Assemblages

这项授予奥本大学的主要研究仪器奖资助了一套水分析系统的购买，以加强对深海地平线石油泄漏及其对沿海生态系统影响的科学反应。首要目标是更好地了解浮游微无脊椎动物和微生物将如何受到深水地平线石油泄漏的影响。奥本大学的研究人员和他们的学生将在接下来的一年里使用这些设备来监测墨西哥湾北部的水及其颗粒和浮游生物的组合。该项目的具体目标包括：1)检查油滴在水柱中停留的时间；2)确定生物最初积聚油的程度以及此后进入体内富含脂质的区域；3)确定油对无脊椎动物幼虫和原生生物种群的影响。这项NSF-RAPID奖励的预期结果是及时和关键的信息，为应对石油泄漏的政策和补救工作提供信息。研究和教育工作的结果将通过参加区域和国家科学会议，并通过包括与受影响公民会面在内的一系列公共宣传努力，在同行评议的期刊出版物中传播。

This Major Research Instrumentation award to Auburn University funds the acquisition of a water analysis system to enhance the scientific response to the Deep Horizons Oil Spill and its effects on coastal ecosystems. The overarching goal is to better understand how planktonic microinvertebrate and microbes will be affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Auburn researchers and their students will use the equipment throughout the upcoming year to monitor the Northern Gulf of Mexico water and its particulate and planktonic assemblages. Specific objectives of this project include 1) examining how long oil droplets persist in the water column, 2) determining the degree to which organisms accumulate oil initially and thereafter into lipid-rich regions of the body, and 3), determining the effect of the oil on invertebrate larval and protist populations. An expected result of this NSF-RAPID award is timely and critical information to inform policy and remediation efforts in response to the oil spill. Results from the studies and education efforts will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journal publications, though participation at regional and national scientific meetings, and through a range of public outreach efforts that include meetings with affected citizens.