Collaborative Research: Climatic and Environmental Constraints on Aboveground-Belowground Linkages and Diversity across a Latitudinal Gradient in Antarctica

南极半岛正在经历快速的环境变化，这将影响生活在那里的生物群落。然而，我们对生活在这一地区土壤中的微生物知之甚少。土壤生物（包括细菌、真菌和无脊椎动物）负责维持生态系统的许多重要过程，如养分循环。如果不了解影响沿着南极半岛土壤生物多样性的环境条件，我们预测全球变化后果的能力就非常有限。该项目将确定南极半岛沿着许多地点的土壤群落，以发现群落如何随环境条件从北向南变化。该项目还将确定每个地点的土壤群落在不同类型的植物下的差异。更多地了解植物覆盖和气候条件影响土壤生物多样性的方式，将有助于预测社区将如何应对未来的变化，如气候变暖和入侵植物物种。该项目还将进一步推动NSF的目标，即向公众提供科学发现和培训新一代科学家。调查人员将直接和通过博客与K-12学生和公众进行外联，并将参加K-12教师的研讨会。此外，该项目将为许多不同背景的本科生和研究生提供跨学科研究培训的机会，调查人员将确定植物-土壤联系的性质和强度，在环境和气候条件的纬度梯度上影响土壤群落组成和多样性。其目标是：（1）通过提供与环境和气候特征相关的土壤群落组成和复杂性的深入知识，增加我们对当前植物地理学和多样性的理解;（2）确定不同空间尺度上地上-地下群落联系的性质。该小组将确定关键生境类型（草、苔藓、藻类等）下土壤群落的组成和多样性。微生物群落（细菌、真菌、古菌）将使用焦磷酸测序进行群落组成分析，并使用宏基因组测序确定功能能力。将提取无脊椎动物（线虫、缓步动物、轮虫、微型节肢动物），并尽可能在最低分类水平上进行鉴定。土壤化学（pH值、养分含量、土壤湿度等）和气候条件，以确定土壤群落与物理和化学性质之间的关系。结构方程模型将被用来确定地上-地下的联系途径，并量化不同环境条件下的联系强度。

The Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing rapid environmental changes, which will influence the community of organisms that live there. However, we know very little about the microscopic organisms living in the soil in this region. Soil biology (including bacteria, fungi, and invertebrates) are responsible for many important processes that sustain ecosystems, such as nutrient recycling. Without understanding the environmental conditions that influence soil biodiversity along the Antarctic Peninsula, our ability to predict the consequences of global change is strongly limited. This project will identify the soil community at many sites along the Antarctic Peninsula to discover how the community changes with environmental conditions from north to south. The project will also identify how the soil community at each site differs under different types of plants. Understanding more about the ways in which plant cover and climate conditions influence soil biodiversity will allow predictions of how communities will respond to future changes such as climate warming and invasive plant species. The project will also further the NSF goals of making scientific discoveries available to the general public and of training new generations of scientists. The investigators will engage with outreach to K-12 students and the general public both directly and through a blog and will participate in workshops for K-12 teachers. Additionally, the project will provide the opportunity for many undergraduate and graduate students of diverse backgrounds to be trained in interdisciplinary research.The investigators will determine the nature and strength of plant-soil linkages in influencing soil community composition and diversity over a latitudinal gradient of environmental and climatic conditions. The goals are to (1) increase our understanding of current biogeography and diversity by providing in-depth knowledge of soil community composition and complexity as it relates to environmental and climatic characteristics; and (2) determine the nature of aboveground-belowground community linkages over varying spatial scales. The team will identify the composition and diversity of soil communities under key habitat types (grass, moss, algae, etc.). Microbial communities (bacteria, fungi, archaea) will be investigated using pyrosequencing for community composition analysis and metagenomic sequencing to identify functional capabilities. Invertebrates (nematodes, tardigrades, rotifers, microarthropods) will be extracted and identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level. Soil chemistry (pH, nutrient content, soil moisture, etc.) and climate conditions will be measured to determine the relationship between soil communities and physical and chemical properties. Structural equation modeling will be used to identify aboveground-belowground linkage pathways and quantify link strengths under varying environmental conditions.