Dissertation Research: Environmental Controls on Stream Bacterial Community Structure & Metabolic Function

论文研究：河流细菌群落结构的环境控制

• 批准号: 1210516
• 负责人: Margaret Palmer
• 金额: $ 1.35万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland, College Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-06-01 至 2014-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1210516&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Environmental; Controls; Stream

Understanding how the fate of carbon is influenced by biological communities is one of the greatest challenges in ecosystem science. Freshwater ecosystems, including streams, are now recognized as sites for the transport, processing, and burial of substantial amounts of organic matter. Communities of microbes, including bacteria, account for a vast majority of the processing of organic matter in streams, but there is much that is not known about how microbial communities impact the fate of organic matter in streams. This project will address this knowledge gap by studying how bacterial community diversity, stream water chemistry, and organic matter composition influence whether organic matter is consumed by stream microbes or transported downstream. A mesocosm experiment will be conducted to test the hypothesis that changes in pH and organic matter composition will impact the stream microbial community and its ability to process organic matter. Genetic bacterial community fingerprints will be used to quantify how the bacterial community responds to the experimental treatments. Bacterial metabolic responses will be measured using enzyme assays and overall metabolic rates.This project will contribute to understanding of the relationship between microbial community structure and metabolism in freshwaters. As watersheds are altered by human activity, pH and organic matter inputs to aquatic ecosystems are also changing. Since streams may be viewed as sentinels for environmental change, this study will generate insight into the response of freshwater communities to global change. Undergraduate researchers will be engaged in all aspects of the work to further their scientific understanding. Results will be communicated at scientific meetings and in journals. Educational materials will be developed for local primary school students that assist in interpreting this work and broader concepts of ecosystem ecology.

了解碳的命运如何受到生物社区的影响是生态系统科学中最大的挑战之一。现在，包括溪流在内的淡水生态系统现在被认为是用于运输，加工和埋葬大量有机物的地点。包括细菌在内的微生物社区占了溪流中有机物的绝大多数处理，但是关于微生物群落如何影响溪流中有机物的命运，有很多知之甚少。该项目将通过研究细菌群落多样性，流水化学和有机物组成如何影响有机物是有机物是由溪流微生物消耗还是下游运输的，这将解决这一知识差距。将进行一个中验实验，以检验以下假设：pH和有机物组成的变化将影响流微生物群落及其处理有机物的能力。遗传细菌群落指纹将用于量化细菌群落对实验治疗的反应。 细菌代谢反应将使用酶测定和整体代谢率进行测量。该项目将有助于理解淡水中微生物群落结构与代谢之间的关系。 随着人类活动的变化，流域发生了变化，水生生态系统的pH和有机物输入也在发生变化。由于可能会将流视为环境变化的哨兵，因此本研究将深入了解淡水社区对全球变化的反应。本科研究人员将从事工作的各个方面，以进一步发展科学理解。结果将在科学会议和期刊上进行传播。将为当地小学生开发教育材料，以帮助解释这项工作和更广泛的生态系统生态学概念。