Collaborative Research: Ecosystem dynamics of Western Pacific hydrothermal vent communities associated with polymetallic sulfide deposits

合作研究：与多金属硫化物矿床相关的西太平洋热液喷口群落的生态系统动态

• 批准号: 1536650
• 负责人: Vicki Ferrini
• 金额: $ 8.32万
• 依托单位: Columbia University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-12-01 至 2019-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1536650&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Ecosystem; dynamics; Western

Hydrothermal vents are common in the Western Pacific, and are markedly different in many geological, geochemical, and biological aspects from the much better known hydrothermal vents on mid-ocean ridges. The processes that structure western Pacific vent communities, such as the extent to which physical and chemical conditions change over time, the dispersal of organisms among hydrothermal vent fields, and the physiological capacities of the symbionts and their animal host are poorly understood. And yet, large-scale industrial mining of polymetallic sulfide deposits at active hydrothermal vents is imminent in the Western Pacific. In 2005 and 2006, 19 long term study sites were established on the Eastern Lau Spreading Center by generating high resolution photomosaics of animal communities in both active and inactive flow areas and on both sulfide chimneys and on lavas, and mapping spatially discrete physical and chemical environmental measurements on to these photomosaics. Revisiting these study sites and acquiring data of comparable resolution in the coming year, combined with detailed studies of the physiology of key species, will significantly increase our understanding of the physiology of the fauna and how these communities respond to change. The resulting data will provide crucial information on the fauna and communities endemic to this region that is critical for predicting and mitigating the effects of mining activities on these ecosystems, and for informing plans for monitoring potential recovery post-mining. To ensure that Western Pacific Islanders are engaged throughout the duration of our program, local scientists will be included in the fieldwork, in-country presentations to students and the general public will be given in association with port stops, and findings will be communicated to local resource managers through the Geoscience Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). The principal investigators are also proponents of fostering greater "open access and collaboration" among oceanographers, and telepresence will be used during this expedition to experiment on two different models of collaboration, which - along with the resulting scientific insights - will be published to disseminate the results of this effort. Finally, in collaboration with the Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH), an exhibit module and course curricula will be developed presenting the effects of both natural and anthropogenic disturbance on biodiversity. It will feature high-resolution imagery, animal and mineralogical samples, and deep-sea research technologies. Web-enabled kiosks will allow visitors to delve deeper into the subject material. The HMNH attracts 200,000 visitors each year, including 33,000 students (K-12) and their teachers, as well as visitors from around the world. The funded interlinked studies of holobiont (symbionts and their animal host) physiology and distribution, community structure and change over time, genetic connectivity, and holobiont ecosystem engineering will significantly increase our understanding of the processes structuring hydrothermal vent ecosystems in general, and those of the Western Pacific in particular. Vent fields in the proposed study area within the Lau Basin are located in relative proximity to one another with no known barriers to biological dispersal and span a pronounced regional gradient in both geological setting and physico-chemical conditions. This natural laboratory, that is home to a significant diversity of vent fauna and where long-term study sites were established a decade ago, presents an opportunity to gain broad new insights into the ecological and physiological characteristics of the vent fauna and the processes that structure these communities. Accordingly, the project will A) determine the rates and patterns of natural physical, chemical, and biological changes at vents in the Lau Basin over a decadal time period by acquiring new high-resolution, co-registered geological, chemical and biological maps and comparing these with data of comparable resolution acquired in 2005, 2006, and 2009; B) evaluate the role of symbiont physiology -in particular their use of key energy sources not previously measured- in the realized distribution of the holobionts by coupling genetic characterization of host and symbionts with shipboard physiological measurements and gene expression studies, and physico-chemical microhabitat characterization; C) quantify the effects of different holobionts on the surrounding environment by coupling repeated spatially integrated measurements of physico-chemical conditions to all collections and; D) assess the influence of genetic connectivity of populations in the Lau Basin on the distribution of holobionts across regional gradients in geology and geochemistry. They will provide new and generally applicable insights on the role of multiple symbionts in both the distribution of their animal hosts and in structuring associated communities. These efforts will also constrain the roles of genetic connectivity, environmental chemistry, and holobiont capabilities in structuring communities along this spreading center. Moreover, through co-registered animal collections and in situ geochemical measurements, the investigators will develop first-order estimates of the extent to which holobiont aggregations affect geochemical flux from diffuse flows, which accounts for ~50% of all vent geochemical flux. Ultimately, this effort will provide critical and robust data on the dynamics of vent fields and communities in the western Pacific biogeographic province, as well as on the underlying physiological and ecological factors governing these patterns.

热液喷口在西太平洋很常见，在许多地质、地球化学和生物方面与大洋中脊更知名的热液喷口有明显的不同。形成西太平洋喷口群落的过程，如物理和化学条件随时间变化的程度，生物在热液喷口区域的扩散，以及共生体及其动物宿主的生理能力，人们知之甚少。然而，在西太平洋，在活跃的热液喷口大规模工业开采多金属硫化物矿藏迫在眉睫。2005年和2006年，在东刘扩散中心建立了19个长期研究地点，方法是生成活跃和非活跃流动区以及硫化物烟囱和熔岩上的动物群落的高分辨率照片，并在这些照片上绘制空间离散的物理和化学环境测量结果。重新考察这些研究地点，并在来年获得具有可比分辨率的数据，再加上对关键物种生理学的详细研究，将大大增加我们对动物生理学的了解，以及这些群落如何对变化做出反应。由此产生的数据将提供关于该区域特有的动物和群落的关键信息，这对于预测和减轻采矿活动对这些生态系统的影响以及为监测采矿后潜在恢复的计划至关重要。为了确保西太平洋岛民在整个项目期间都参与进来，将在实地考察中包括当地科学家，在港口停靠期间向学生和公众进行国内演示，并通过太平洋共同体秘书处(SPC)地球科学司将调查结果传达给当地资源管理者。主要研究人员也支持促进海洋学家之间更大程度的“开放获取和合作”，在这次考察期间，将使用远程呈现来试验两种不同的合作模式，这些模式将与由此产生的科学见解一起出版，以传播这一努力的结果。最后，将与哈佛大学自然历史博物馆(HMNH)合作，开发一个展示单元和课程课程，展示自然和人为干扰对生物多样性的影响。它将以高分辨率图像、动物和矿物学样本以及深海研究技术为特色。启用网络的信息亭将允许访问者更深入地钻研主题材料。HMNH每年吸引200,000名游客，其中包括33,000名学生(K-12)和他们的老师，以及来自世界各地的游客。所资助的关于全息生物(共生体及其动物宿主)的生理学和分布、群落结构和随时间的变化、遗传连通性以及全息生物生态系统工程的相互关联的研究，将极大地提高我们对构成热液喷口生态系统，特别是西太平洋热液喷口生态系统的过程的了解。刘盆地内拟议研究区内的喷口区域位于相对接近的位置，没有已知的生物扩散障碍，在地质背景和物理化学条件下都跨越了明显的区域梯度。这个自然实验室是喷口动物多样性的家园，十年前在这里建立了长期的研究地点，提供了一个机会，让人们对喷口动物的生态和生理特征以及构建这些群落的过程有更广泛的新见解。因此，该项目将A)通过获得新的高分辨率、共同登记的地质、化学和生物地图，并将这些地图与2005年、2006年和2009年获得的可比分辨率的数据进行比较，确定刘盆地喷口自然物理、化学和生物变化的速率和模式；B)通过将寄主和共生生物的遗传特征与船上的生理测量和基因表达研究以及物理化学微生境特征相结合，评估共生生物生理--特别是它们对以前未测量的关键能源的使用--在实现完整生物分布中的作用；(C)通过将物理化学条件的重复空间综合测量与所有集合相结合，量化不同全息图对周围环境的影响；以及(D)评估刘盆地种群的遗传连通性对跨区域地质和地球化学梯度的全波图分布的影响。它们将为多种共生体在动物宿主的分布和构建相关群落中的作用提供新的和普遍适用的见解。这些努力还将限制遗传连通性、环境化学和全息能力在沿着这个传播中心构建社区方面的作用。此外，通过共同登记的动物采集和现场地球化学测量，研究人员将对全离子聚集对扩散流的地球化学通量的影响程度进行一阶估计，扩散流占所有喷口地球化学通量的约50%。最终，这项工作将提供关于西太平洋生物地理省喷口区域和群落动态以及支配这些模式的潜在生理和生态因素的关键和强有力的数据。