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

在北部海洋，物种的分布和多样性受到冰川极大期的严重影响。广泛分布于温带的海葵属是受过去冰川作用影响的底栖无脊椎动物。通过研究当代米氏体种群的环境适应性和种群遗传学，可以构建冰期后的再殖民历史，并将其追溯到起源的避难种群。该项目将调查紫足藻的生存极限，为物种分布模型提供信息，同时更深入地了解它们的潜在分布和过去分布。该项目的研究将在Akkeshi海洋站（北海道大学）进行，并与海洋底栖生物生态学专家Masahiro Nakaoka博士合作。本项目将重点在水族箱中对活的衰老体进行实验，操纵温度、盐度和溶解氧变量。从南部避难所分散到北海道的种群预计能忍受更高的温度和盐度波动，而来自较深水域的种群预计对温度和盐度波动的耐受性较低。此外，研究人员还将在日本北部地区收集老年M.的标本进行分子分析，与整个太平洋地区的其他标本进行比较，将表明日本是否曾作为北太平洋的避难所。这些数据将应用于对北大西洋和太平洋老年m.s old的系统地理学的更广泛的研究，以检查作为对大气变化的响应，分布变化是如何进行和转移的，并告知它们如何应对未来不断变化的气候条件。该奖项隶属于东亚和太平洋暑期研究所项目，由美国国家科学基金会和日本科学促进会共同资助，支持一名美国研究生进行暑期研究。该奖项由美国国家科学基金会和日本科学促进会共同资助，隶属于东亚和太平洋暑期研究所项目，支持一名美国研究生进行暑期研究。

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.