Collaborative Research: RAPID-HARVEY: Response of plankton assemblages and trophodynamics to a historic, hurricane-induced floodwater plume in a subtropical, pelagic environment

该项目将研究墨西哥湾西北部的浮游生物如何在与其发展和演变相关的时间尺度上（几天到几个月）对飓风哈维等极端天气事件产生的大型洪水羽流作出反应。我们的目标是了解路易斯安那州-得克萨斯州大陆架的大量淡水脉冲的时间，幅度和组成负载是如何：（1）在每月，季节和年度时间尺度上驱动浮游植物，浮游动物和仔鱼群落和分布的变化，以及（2）这些变化对浮游生物内食物网相互作用的影响。哈维飓风洪水扰动的时间与墨西哥湾经济上重要的渔业（如红鼓鱼，海鳟鱼，笛鲷）的夏秋产卵季节相吻合，提出了食物网中断对招聘的长期影响的额外问题。该项目将在三个机构培训两名本科生和四名博士研究生，并支持三名早期职业调查员。洪水前和洪水后的羽流数据和样本将在收集后一年内与更广泛的科学界分享，以方便研究小组以外的科学家立即使用。该小组将在已建立的区域科学传播系列中进行协调的公开演讲，并通过其他现有的区域外联伙伴关系扩大该项目的教育范围。最后，这项研究的结果将被纳入课程，并通过科学演示和同行评审期刊上的出版物分享。2017年8月下旬，飓风哈维向德克萨斯州东南部带来了创纪录的降雨，导致大量洪水羽流被输送到墨西哥湾（GOM）北方的沿海沃茨。该项目将调查该羽流对该系统中浮游生物（从皮科浮游生物到鱼类浮游生物）群落组成和营养相互作用的短期和中期影响。基于2017年7月在GOM生态系统和碳循环（GOMECC-3）巡航期间收集的数据，以及该地区的历史数据集，将在事件发生后2，4和8个月的三次研究巡航期间评估浮游生物组合，丰度和食物网相互作用。海洋学数据和样本将使用标准和最先进的设备收集和处理，包括ZooScan，FlowCAM，流式细胞术和下一代测序。将进行船上微型和中型浮游动物摄食实验，以了解在不断变化的环境条件下不同浮游生物群体之间的营养动力相互作用和关系。将对幼鱼的饮食和生长率进行分析，并将分析与浮游植物和浮游动物（即被捕食者）丰度和群落组成数据联系起来。在三次项目航行期间采用相同的渔具类型和方法，将确保这些新数据与现有样本和数据集的可比性。这些哈维后的数据将与NOAA东南区域监测和评估计划（SEAMAP）在该地区收集的前不久和长期数据进行比较，从而可以调查浮游生物组合的时间演变，并解释季节性，多年和十年的浮游生物状态变化。

This project will examine how plankton in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico respond to large floodwater plumes generated by extreme weather events like Hurricane Harvey at time scales relevant to its development and evolution (days to months). The goal is to understand how the timing, magnitude, and constituent loads of a massive pulse of freshwater to the Louisiana-Texas shelf are: (1) driving changes in phytoplankton, zooplankton, and larval fish communities and distributions over monthly, seasonal, and annual time scales and, (2) what the consequences of those changes are to food web interactions within the plankton. The timing of Hurricane Harvey flood water disturbance coincides with the summer-fall spawning seasons for economically important Gulf of Mexico fisheries (e.g. red drum, sea trouts, snappers), raising additional questions of longer term effects of food web disruptions on recruitment. This project will train two undergraduate students and four PhD-level graduate students across three institutions, as well as support three early-career investigators. Pre- and post-floodwater plume data and samples will be shared with the broader scientific community within one year of collection to facilitate their immediate use by scientists beyond the research team. The team will give coordinated public talks at established regional science communication series and through other existing regional outreach partnerships to extend the educational scope of the project. Finally, results from this research will be incorporated in course curriculum and shared through scientific presentations and publications in peer-reviewed journals.Record-breaking rain delivered by Hurricane Harvey to Southeast Texas in late August 2017 has resulted in a massive floodwater plume being delivered to coastal waters in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM). This project will investigate the short- and mid-term effects of that plume on planktonic (from pico- to ichthyoplankton) community composition and trophic interactions in that system. Building on data collected in July 2017 during a GOM Ecosystems and Carbon Cycle (GOMECC-3) cruise, and from historical datasets in the region, plankton assemblages, abundance, and food web interactions will assessed during three research cruises 2, 4, and 8 months after the event. Oceanographic data and samples will be collected and processed using standard and state of the art gear, including ZooScan, FlowCAM, flow cytometry, and next generation sequencing. Onboard micro- and mesozooplankton grazing experiments will be conducted to understand the trophodynamic interactions and relationships between different plankton groups under changing environmental conditions. Diet and growth rate analyses of larval fish will be undertaken and related to phyto- and zooplankton (i.e. prey) abundance and community composition data. Application of the same gear types and methods during the three project cruises will ensure comparability of these new data to existing samples and datasets. These post-Harvey data will be compared to immediately-preceding and long-term data collected in the area by NOAA's Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP), allowing for investigation of the temporal evolution of planktonic assemblages and interpretation of plankton regime shifts in seasonal, multiyear, and decadal contexts.