Dimensions: Collaborative Research: Lake Baikal Responses to Global Change: The Role of Genetic, Functional and Taxonomic Diversity in the Plankton

人类引起的全球变化正在改变地球上的大多数生态系统。高度多样化的生态系统可以更好地缓冲变化，即使在物理环境发生变化时也能保持关键功能。生态系统如何响应可能取决于其生物多样性，但生物多样性的不同组成部分如何决定生态系统对全球变化的响应仍然知之甚少。遗传多样性增强了种群适应变化的能力，功能多样性允许不同物种执行关键的生态系统功能，但对于多样性的这些组成部分如何相互作用以及在变化的环境中存在的物种数量知之甚少。一个跨学科研究小组将利用60年来现有的生态数据、野外采样、基因分析、实验和数学模型，研究世界上最大、最古老、生物多样性最丰富的湖泊——西伯利亚贝加尔湖的生物多样性。该项目的一个主要目标是发展预测这个生态系统将如何应对不断上升的温度和其他压力因素的能力。这个联合国教科文组织世界遗产拥有世界20%的未冻淡水，被国际公认为全球重要的淡水资源，是生物多样性的宝库，也是研究进化的独特自然实验室。贝加尔湖特有物种的多样性在其他地方是独一无二的，它是生态系统的典范，拥有高度独特的生物群和快速变暖的寒冷水生环境。研究人员和学生将参与跨学科的国际合作研究计划。资金将支持应用和基础科学领域的研究生培训，包括分子生物学、生态学和信息学。该项目收集的数据将公开，以便其他科学家和教育工作者使用。项目结果将传达给俄罗斯和美国的环保组织，以及一个美国电影团队，该团队正在策划一部关于贝加尔湖和淡水保护的IMAX电影。来自密歇根州、德克萨斯州和田纳西州的学校教师将参与该项目，并与研究人员一起开展有关水生生态学、生物多样性和全球变化的教育活动。

Human-induced global change is altering most ecosystems on Earth. Highly diverse ecosystems may be better buffered against change, maintaining key functions even as the physical environment changes. How ecosystems respond will likely depend on their biodiversity, but how different components of biological diversity determine ecosystem responses to global change are still poorly understood. Genetic diversity enhances the ability of populations to adapt to change and functional diversity allows different species to carry out key ecosystem functions, but little is known about how these components of diversity will interact with each other and with the number of species present in a changing environment. Sixty years of existing ecological data, field sampling, genetic analyses, experiments, and mathematical models will be used by an interdisciplinary team of researchers to examine multiple aspects of biodiversity in the largest, oldest and most biologically diverse lake in the world, Lake Baikal in Siberia. A major goal of the project will be to develop the ability to predict how this ecosystem will respond to rising temperatures and other stressors. Holding 20% of world's unfrozen fresh water, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is recognized internationally as a globally important freshwater resource, a treasure trove of biodiversity, and a unique natural laboratory in which to study evolution. With an unprecedented diversity of endemic species found nowhere else, Lake Baikal serves as a model for ecosystems with highly unique biota and cold aquatic environments undergoing rapid warming.Researchers and students will engage in an interdisciplinary international collaborative research program. Funding will support graduate training in both applied and basic areas of science, including molecular biology, ecology, and informatics. Data collected by this project will be publicly available so that they can be used by other scientists and educators. Project results will be communicated to environmental organizations in Russia and the US and to a US-based film team planning an IMAX movie about Baikal and freshwater conservation. School teachers from Michigan, Texas and Tennessee will participate in the project and, together with researchers, develop educational activities on aquatic ecology, biological diversity and global change.