RAPID: Natural Laboratories in the Chilean Fjords: Studying Reproduction and Development in Emergent Deep-Sea Corals

RAPID：智利峡湾的自然实验室：研究新兴深海珊瑚的繁殖和发育

• 批准号: 1219554
• 负责人: Rhian Waller
• 金额: $ 7.85万
• 依托单位: University of Maine
• 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: 2012-02-01 至 2014-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1219554&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Natural; Laboratories; Chilean; Fjords

Intellectual MeritThe northern Patagonian fjords lie on the interface between the high Andes Mountains in the east and the South Pacific Ocean, formed thousands of years ago through erosive glacial activity and tectonic sinking. Around 12,000 years ago the icefields in the Chiloé Interior Sea began to open, leaving behind over 15,000km2 of fjords, channels and gulfs. The waters within the fjords are influenced by strong tides, large volumes of freshwater runoff, and upwelling of deep-ocean waters as well as steep climatic gradients from north to south. This dynamic environment has resulted in extremely high biodiversity and endemism, yet this region is one of the least studied areas of the world. It was just a few years ago that deep-sea corals were found inhabiting this region at unusually shallow depths (less than 10m) and in extremely high densities (greater than 1500 individuals per m2). One species in particular, Desmophyllum dianthus, is one of the most widespread hard corals in deep-sea habitats around the globe, yet there have been no ecological studies because of the difficulty in sampling at depths below traditional SCUBA sampling. Cold-water corals are important structural engineers, creating habitat for thousands of associated invertebrates and fish, forming the principle foundation of many benthic ecosystems. These shallow fjord communities present a unique opportunity to form baseline data on ecological and population processes, acting as an accessible window into a deep-sea ecosystem. In recent years environmental and anthropogenic pressures in the northern Patagonian fjord region have mounted (particular from intense salmon farming) leading to a situation where these unique ecosystems may be lost before they can be documented and fully understood. Reproduction is a fundamental ecological process for which every species on the planet needs to undergo to survive through time, and is essential information to understanding recruitment, recolonization, population connectivity and recovery from damage. This project will study the reproductive ecology of the primary cold-water coral in this region, D. dianthus. This project will leverage research funded through a National Geographic Global Exploration Fund grant to establish year-long monitoring sites in three locations within the fjords. RAPID funding from NSF will add a significant ecological study to the National Geographic study. Broader ImpactsThe delicate and unique coral-based ecosystem of these fjord systems are threatened by increased fishing, tourism and intensified logging in conjunction with climate change. This project will contribute to and understanding of how anthropogenic influences are affecting basic life history processes in an important habitat forming species in the region and will provide a basis for more in-depth studies of the region's benthic resources. The broader impacts also include undergraduate training through a 5 week internship to process samples in the Waller laboratory and a public outreach component consisting of a blog website, daily Twitter updates from the field from the PI's "Online Expeditions" site and National Geographic website coverage. This project will also foster international collaborative work with Chilean researchers from the Fundación Huinay, their intimate knowledge of these ecosystems is an integral part of this project. Samples will also be supplied to other collaborators for population genetics and paleo-climate analysis.

智力价值北部的巴塔哥尼亚峡湾位于东部的安第斯山脉和南太平洋之间的交界处，数千年前通过侵蚀冰川活动和构造下沉形成。大约12,000年前，奇洛内海的冰原开始开放，留下了超过15,000平方公里的峡湾、航道和海湾。峡湾内的水域受到强潮、大量淡水径流、深海上升流以及从北到南陡峭的气候梯度的影响。这种动态的环境导致了极高的生物多样性和地方性，但该地区是世界上研究最少的地区之一。就在几年前，深海珊瑚被发现栖息在该地区异常浅的深度(不到10米)和极高的密度(每平方米超过1500只珊瑚)。有一种珊瑚是全球深海栖息地分布最广泛的硬珊瑚之一，其中一种叫Desmophyllum diantus，但由于在低于传统的潜水采样深度进行采样存在困难，目前还没有进行过生态学研究。冷水珊瑚是重要的结构工程师，为数千种相关的无脊椎动物和鱼类创造了栖息地，构成了许多海底生态系统的基本基础。这些浅水湾群落为形成关于生态和人口过程的基线数据提供了独特的机会，成为了解深海生态系统的一个可接近的窗口。近年来，巴塔哥尼亚峡湾北部地区的环境和人为压力越来越大(特别是来自密集的鲑鱼养殖)，导致这些独特的生态系统可能在被记录和充分了解之前就消失了。繁殖是地球上的每个物种都需要经历的一个基本的生态过程，以度过时间，是了解招募、重新殖民、种群连接和从破坏中恢复的基本信息。本项目将研究该地区初级冷水珊瑚--石珊瑚的繁殖生态。该项目将利用国家地理全球探索基金赠款资助的研究，在峡湾内的三个地点建立为期一年的监测点。来自NSF的快速资金将为国家地理研究增加一项重要的生态学研究。更广泛的影响这些峡湾系统基于珊瑚的脆弱和独特的生态系统受到渔业、旅游业和加强采伐以及气候变化的威胁。该项目将有助于并了解人为影响如何影响该区域一个重要的生境形成物种的基本生活史过程，并将为更深入地研究该区域的海底资源提供基础。更广泛的影响还包括通过为期5周的实习在沃勒实验室处理样品的本科生培训，以及一个由博客网站组成的公共宣传部分，来自PI的“在线考察”网站的每日实地推特更新和国家地理网站的报道。该项目还将促进与惠奈基金会的智利研究人员的国际合作，他们对这些生态系统的深入了解是该项目不可或缺的一部分。样本也将被提供给其他合作者，用于种群遗传学和古气候分析。