EAPSI: Japanese Diversity and Ecological Survival Limits of the Fluffy Sea Anemone, Metridium Senile

在北方海洋，物种的分布和多样性受到最大冰川的严重影响。海葵属于广布的温带海葵属（Metridium），是一种底栖无脊椎动物，受过去冰川的影响。通过对Metridium现代种群的环境适应性和种群遗传学研究，可以构建冰期后的再殖民历史，并追溯到起源的避难种群。该项目将调查Metridium的生存极限，以告知物种分布模型，同时更深入地了解它们的潜力和过去的分布。该项目的研究将在Akkeshi海洋站（北海道大学）与海洋底栖生态学专家Masahiro Nakaoka博士合作进行。本计画将以温度、盐度、溶解氧为控制变量，进行水族箱中活的老年蛤实验。从南部避难所分散到北海道的人口预计将容忍更高的温度和盐度的波动，而来自较深的水的人口预计将显示较低的容忍度的温度和盐度的波动。此外，研究人员将收集M.在日本的整个北方分布区中，发现了一些老年人，进行分子分析，与整个太平洋地区的其他人进行比较，将表明日本是否曾是北方太平洋的避难所。这些数据将应用于对M.研究分布变化是如何随着大气变化而进行和变化的，并告知它们如何应对未来不断变化的气候条件。东亚和太平洋夏季研究所计划下的这个奖项支持美国研究生的夏季研究，由NSF和日本科学促进会共同资助。该奖项是东亚和太平洋夏季研究所计划下的一个奖项，由美国国家科学基金会和日本科学促进会共同资助，支持美国研究生的夏季研究。

In the northern oceans, the distribution and diversity of species has been heavily impacted by glacial maxima. Sea anemones in the widespread temperate genus Metridium are benthic invertebrates that have been affected by past glaciations. Recolonization histories post-glaciation can be constructed and traced back to an originating refugial populations by studying the environmental adaptations and population genetics of contemporary populations of Metridium. This project will investigate the survival limits of Metridium to inform species distribution models while providing a deeper understanding of their potential and past distributions. The research for this project will be conducted at the Akkeshi Marine Station (Hokkaido University) in collaboration with Dr. Masahiro Nakaoka, an expert in marine benthic ecology. This project will be focused on performing experiments of live Metridium senile in aquaria with manipulated variables of temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen. Populations that dispersed to Hokkaido from a southern refugium are expected to tolerate greater higher temperature and to salinity fluctuations, whereas populations originating from deeper water are expected to show lower tolerance for fluctuations in temperature and salinity. Additionally, the researcher will be collecting specimens of M. senile throughout their northern range in Japan for molecular analysis, which, when compared with others throughout the Pacific, will indicate as to whether Japan served as a refugium for the Northern Pacific. These data will be applied to a wider study on the North Atlantic and Pacific phylogeography of M. senile to examine how distributional changes have proceeded and shifted as a response to atmospheric changes and inform how they might respond to future shifting climate conditions. This award under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. This award, under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program, supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.