RAPID: Effects of Hurricane Irma on shallow-water marine ecosystems: Assessing resiliency of sponge and macroinvertebrate communities in the Florida Keys

飓风伊尔玛是一场破坏性极强的风暴，直接在佛罗里达群岛下游移动。虽然上面的水损害是显而易见的，但飓风对佛罗里达群岛浅水海底海洋生物栖息地的影响尚不清楚。浅水栖息地是经济上重要的渔业的重要苗圃，很可能受到风暴的强烈影响。这些生态系统中的海绵群落由于它们的觅食行为而发挥着至关重要的生态功能，这涉及到从水柱中抽出大量的水和过滤材料。该项目测试了有关海绵对飓风造成的生态破坏的反应的重要假设。海绵在许多珊瑚礁生态系统中含量丰富，并发挥着重要的生态作用，因此了解系统对海绵群落干扰的反应是重要的。这项工作对本科生进行实地研究、数据管理和分析以及科学交流方面的培训。作为该项目的一部分开展的一些活动被纳入里士满大学综合科学体验(URISE)和一年级的科学、数学和研究培训(SMART)课程，这两个课程都是为了增加代表性不足群体的个人对STEM学科的参与。此外，这项研究还在各种公共论坛上公布，以尽可能广泛地传播。海绵在热带珊瑚礁生境中是一个重要的底栖-中上层耦合点。最近提出的海绵环假说预测，这些动物根据其生物过滤能力释放碎屑，然后被食物网底部的有机体消耗。飓风伊尔玛可能扰乱了海绵环路的组成部分，调查人员正在探索与风暴影响有关的四种假设。首先，这项拟议的工作测试了风暴对海绵造成的损害是否是非随机的，是否会对较大的海绵造成不成比例的影响。第二个假设考察了风暴对这些栖息地的大型无脊椎动物群落的影响。这项工作建立在调查人员在风暴前几年进行的海绵和大型无脊椎动物调查的基础上。第三，验证了飓风通过破坏海绵摄食而影响浮游细菌种群的假设。PI还通过流式细胞术比较飓风前和飓风后的浮游生物结构，使用作为正在进行的海绵摄食行为研究的一部分收集的吸入-呼出水样本。最后，从不同大小类别的几种海绵的浅水种群中收集吸入-呼出水样，以确定摄食行为是否显示出基于海绵大小的任何人口统计学变化。用流式细胞术对样本进行处理，以检查宿主海绵的保留效率和猎物选择性。2017年12月对海绵(大小、密度、多样性)和大型无脊椎动物进行了初步调查。然后也会发生初步的海绵抽吸活动。2018年5月至7月再次进行了广泛的调查，并将在随后几年进行进一步监测。

Hurricane Irma was a massively destructive storm that traveled directly over the lower Florida Keys. While the above water damage was obvious, effects from the hurricane on shallow benthic marine habitats in the Florida Keys is unknown. Shallow water habitats, which are important nurseries for economically important fisheries, likely experienced the strong effects from the storm. Sponge communities in these ecosystems perform vital ecological functions due to their feeding behavior, which involves pumping large quantities of water and filtering material from the water column. The project tests important hypotheses about sponge responses to ecological disruptions that are caused by hurricanes. Sponges are abundant in many reef ecosystems, and play essential ecological roles, so learning about system responses to sponge community disturbances is important. The work trains undergraduates in field research, data management and analysis, and science communication. Some of the activities developed as part of this project are incorporated in the University of Richmond Integrated Science Experience (URISE), and the first-year Science, Math and Research Training (SMART) course, both of which are designed to increase participation in STEM disciplines by individuals from underrepresented groups. Furthermore, the research is presented in a variety of public forums to disseminate as widely as possible. Sponges represent a significant benthic-pelagic coupling point in tropical reef habitats. The recently proposed sponge loop hypothesis predicts that these animals release detritus as a function of their biofiltering capabilities, which is then consumed by organisms at the base of the food web. Hurricane Irma may have disrupted components of the sponge loop, and the investigators are exploring four hypotheses related to the storm's effects. First, the proposed work tests whether sponge damage from the storm was non-random, disproportionately affecting larger sponges. The second hypothesis examines the effects of the storm on macroinvertebrate communities in these habitats. This work builds on sponge and macroinvertebrate surveys conducted by the investigators in the years preceding the storm. Thirdly, the hypothesis that the hurricane influenced bacterioplankton populations through disruption of sponge feeding is tested. The PIs also compare pre- and post-hurricane plankton structure via flow cytometery using inhalant-exhalent water samples collected as part of an on-going study of sponge feeding behavior. Finally, inhalant-exhalent water samples are collected from shallow-water populations of several sponges from different size categories to determine if feeding behavior shows any demographic shifts based on the size of the sponge. Samples are processed to examine the retention efficiencies and prey selectivity of the host sponges using flow cytometry. Initial surveys are conducted of sponges (size, density, diversity) and macroinvertebrates in December, 2017. Preliminary sponge pumping activity occurs then too. Extensive surveys take place again in May-July, 2018 with further monitoring to occur in subsequent years.