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: 1537807
• 负责人: Charles Fisher
• 金额: $ 30.01万
• 依托单位: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park
• 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 2017-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1537807&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.

热液通风孔在西太平洋很常见，在许多地质，地球化学和生物学方面与众所周知的水热通风孔明显不同。结构西部太平洋通风口群落的过程，例如物理和化学条件随时间变化的程度，水热田间的生物体分散以及共生体及其动物宿主的生理能力知之甚少。然而，西太平洋迫在眉睫的积极水热通风孔的聚合金属硫化物沉积物的大规模工业开采。在2005年和2006年，通过在活性和不活跃流动区域以及硫化物烟囱和熔岩上产生高分辨率的光瘤，并在空间分离到这些光体上的物理和化学环境测量值，从而在东部LAU扩散中心建立了19个长期研究地点。重新审视这些研究地点并获取来年可比分辨率的数据，再加上对关键物种的生理学的详细研究，将大大增强我们对动物群生理学的理解以及这些社区对变化的反应。 最终的数据将提供有关该地区的动物群和社区的关键信息，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潜在恢复后矿山的计划而言至关重要。为了确保西太平洋岛民在我们计划的整个计划期间都参与其中，当地科学家将包括在野外工作中，向学生和公众进行派对与港口停靠点一起提供，并通过太平洋社区秘书处（SPC）的地球科学司（SPC）向当地资源经理传达发现。首席研究人员也是向海洋学家培养更大的“开放访问与协作”的支持者，在这次探险期间将使用远程陈述来实验两种不同的协作模型，这些合作模式将与最终的科学见解一起出版，以分散这项工作的结果。最后，将与哈佛大学自然历史博物馆（HMNH）合作，将开发一个展览模块和课程课程，展示自然和人为障碍对生物多样性的影响。它将具有高分辨率图像，动物和矿物学样本以及深海研究技术。支持网络的信息亭将使访问者可以深入研究主题材料。 HMNH每年吸引20万名游客，其中包括33,000名学生（K-12）及其老师以及来自世界各地的游客。资助的Holobiont（共生体及其动物宿主）生理学和分布，社区结构和随着时间的变化，遗传连通性以及Holobiont生态系统工程的互联研究将大大提高我们对建立水热生态系统的过程的理解，尤其是西部太平洋的过程。 LAU盆地拟议的研究区域中的排气场相对彼此相对近距离，在地质环境和物理化学条件下都没有生物分散的已知障碍，并且跨越了明显的区域梯度。这个天然实验室是众多的通风烟道动物区系的所在地，并且在十年前建立了长期研究地点的地方，这是一个机会，有机会获得对通风口动物的生态和生理特征的广泛见解以及结构这些社区的过程。因此，该项目将a）通过获取新的高分辨率，共同注册的地质地质，化学和生物图，并将这些数据与2005年，2006年和2009年获得的可比分辨率的数据进行比较，从而确定Lau盆地中天然物理，化学和生物学变化的速率和模式。 b）评估共生体生理学的作用 - 特别是它们对以前未测量的关键能源的使用 - 通过将宿主和共生体的遗传表征与船盘生理测量和基因表达研究，物理化学微生物型的遗传表征耦合，在实现的Holobiont中的实现分布中； c）通过将重复对所有集合的物理化学条件的空间整合测量值耦合，量化不同的霍比翁对周围环境的影响； d）评估人群在LAU盆地中的遗传连通性对地质和地球化学区域梯度之间Holobionts分布的影响。他们将提供有关多个共生体在动物宿主分布和结构相关社区中的作用的新的，通常适用的见解。这些努力还将限制遗传连通性，环境化学和Holobiont能力在沿这个扩散中心构建社区的能力。此外，通过共同注册的动物收集和原位地球化学测量，研究人员将开发一阶估计，以估计Holobiont聚集影响弥漫性流的地球化学通量的程度，该流量占所有通风量的地球化学通量的约50％。最终，这项工作将提供有关西太平洋生物地理省以及有关这些模式的基本生理和生态因素的关键数据。