I-Corps: Constructing an Artificial Reef to Improve the Marine Ecosystem

I-Corps：建造人工鱼礁以改善海洋生态系统

• 批准号: 1445211
• 负责人: Thomas Manning
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: Valdosta State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-07-01 至 2015-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1445211&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Constructing; Artificial; Reef; Improve

Artificial reefs serve a useful purpose to promote the growth of sessile marine organisms such as bacteria, algae, corals, and bryozoans as well as providing a habitat and food source for species such as fish, crabs, lobsters, and some marine invertebrates. This project applies the EPA's 12 Principles of Green Technology to a cellulose based surface that is coated in nutrients to promote the rapid growth of marine microbes, the base of the marine food chain. This rapid growth, which begins days after being submerged, starts the food chain. The mineral based substrate attached to the cellulose based material is denser than water to allow the entire structure to sink; both the cellulose and mineral based materials will degrade leaving behind nucleation sites for microbes, corals, invertebrate collections, and more. The reef is constructed entirely from biodegradable materials and production costs are economical. The proposed approach combines cellulose with silicates and nutrients (CeNS) to provide a surface for marine life to nucleate and grow. This approach was developed in the PI's lab over the past decade raising marine bacteria that produced marine natural products. The team intends to build on the preliminary results involving carbonate based organisms (i.e. oysters, coral), a place for larvae to grow (i.e. fish, shrimp and octopus), and to provide a food source and shelter for schools of fish. This team has started testing its green technology approach in the Florida panhandle and the Florida Keys. While the use of wood as a growth and shelter medium for marine life has been practiced since ancient times, the use of a nutrient mix with cellulose to selectively encourage and accelerate certain species is unique.

人工鱼礁可促进细菌、藻类、珊瑚和苔藓虫等固着海洋生物的生长，并为鱼类、螃蟹、龙虾和一些海洋无脊椎动物等物种提供栖息地和食物来源。 该项目将EPA的12项绿色技术原则应用于纤维素基表面，该表面涂有营养物质，以促进海洋微生物的快速生长，海洋食物链的基础。 这种在被淹没后几天开始的快速生长，启动了食物链。 附着在纤维素基材料上的矿物基基质比水更致密，以允许整个结构下沉;纤维素和矿物基材料都会降解，为微生物、珊瑚、无脊椎动物等留下成核位点。 珊瑚礁完全由可生物降解的材料建造，生产成本很经济。所提出的方法将纤维素与硅酸盐和营养物质（CeNS）结合起来，为海洋生物提供成核和生长的表面。 这种方法是在PI的实验室在过去十年中开发的，用于培养生产海洋天然产品的海洋细菌。 该小组打算在涉及碳酸盐基生物（即牡蛎、珊瑚）的初步结果的基础上再接再厉，为幼虫提供生长的地方（即鱼、虾和章鱼），并为鱼群提供食物来源和庇护所。 这个团队已经开始在佛罗里达狭长地带和佛罗里达群岛测试其绿色技术方法。虽然使用木材作为海洋生物的生长和庇护媒介自古以来就一直存在，但使用营养素与纤维素的混合物来选择性地促进和加速某些物种的生长是独一无二的。