Trajectories in functional diversity after disturbance at vents on the East Pacific Rise

热液喷口支撑着深海中的生命绿洲，居住着不寻常的生物，它们使用化学能而不是光合作用作为其食物链的基础。然而，由于喷口位于海底地质活跃的区域，整个社区可能会被灾难性的自然干扰(如火山喷发)摧毁。该项目的主要目标是量化这些社区从灾难性干扰中恢复的速度，并确定哪些过程影响它们的复原力。该项目侧重于群落的结构(物种多样性)和功能(特性多样性)。研究人员将检查东太平洋海隆活动部分的喷口，那里以十年为时间尺度发生喷发扰动。这些活动将创造一个前所未有的长期(14年)殖民物种组成和功能的量化时间序列。将基于特征的分析应用于喷口的生物演替问题，有可能改变我们对其他零星的、瞬时的和区域相连的生态系统弹性的思考方式。通过考虑特征如何随时间变化，研究人员可以解开哪些物种水平的特征对物种丰度和分布影响最大。项目目标具有广泛的意义，因为深海采矿造成深海喷口的人为干扰的可能性越来越大。其他影响包括加强未被充分代表的少数群体对海洋科学的参与，促进深海喷口物种功能特征的国际数据库开发。居住在深海热液喷口的独特的、以化学合成为燃料的动物群受到构造和喷发干扰的影响，可能导致整个群落灭绝。该项目的主要目标是量化这些社区从灾难性干扰中恢复的速度，并确定哪些过程影响它们的复原力。重点放在东太平洋海隆活动部分的喷口上，那里的喷发扰动发生在十年时间尺度上。关于定居和幼虫供应的实地数据不仅被用来描述物种演替，而且还被用来描述最近(2006年)喷发后功能多样性的轨迹。一种新的、有希望的殖民研究方法来自于结合基于特征的功能多样性分析。在陆地和淡水系统中，功能特性分析越来越被认为是一种从整体上回答生态问题的工具，但特性分析并不经常应用于海洋系统。通过考虑外来殖民者的特征是如何随着时间的推移而变化的，研究人员可以解开哪些物种水平的因素对种群数量和分布影响最大。该项目将创造一个史无前例的长期(14年)殖民物种组成和功能的量化时间序列。它包括多个喷口，以涵盖栖息地条件的全部多样性，并通过幼虫供应评估当地过程和区域连通性。在个别地点的实地观察有助于在元社区理论的背景下提出更广泛的问题。在这个理论框架中，这样的实地数据可以用来回答这样的问题，例如特定地点的喷口群落的根除如何影响整个元群落的持续，以及哪些喷口地点对区域生物多样性的贡献最大。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Hydrothermal vents support oases of life in the deep sea and are inhabited by unusual organisms that use chemical energy instead of photosynthesis as the basis of their food web. However, because the vents occur in geologically active areas of the seafloor, entire communities can be eradicated by catastrophic natural disturbances such as eruptions. The main objectives of this project are to quantify how quickly these communities recover from catastrophic disturbance and to determine what processes influence their resilience. The project focuses on both the structure (species diversity) and function (trait diversity) of the communities. The investigators will examine vents on an active segment of the East Pacific Rise where eruptive disturbance occurs on decadal time scales. These activities will create an unprecedented long-term (14-year) quantitative time-series of colonist species composition and function. The application of trait-based analysis to the question of biological succession at vents has the potential to change the way we think about resilience in other patchy, transient and regionally-connected ecosystems. By considering how traits change over time, the researchers can untangle which species-level characteristics most influence abundance and distribution. The project objectives have broad significance with the growing potential for human-caused disturbances at deep-sea vents through deep-sea mining. Additional impacts include strengthening participation of under-represented minorities in marine science and contributing to international database development for functional traits of deep-sea vent species.The unique, chemosynthesis-fueled fauna inhabiting deep-sea hydrothermal vents are subject to tectonic and eruptive disturbance that can eradicate entire communities. The main objectives of this project are to quantify how quickly these communities recover from catastrophic disturbance and to determine what processes influence their resilience. The focus is on vents on an active segment of the East Pacific Rise where eruptive disturbance occurs on decadal time scales. Field data on colonization and larval supply are used to characterize not only species succession but also the trajectory of functional diversity after a recent (2006) eruption. A new, promising approach to the colonization studies comes from incorporating trait-based analysis of functional diversity. Functional trait analysis is increasingly recognized in terrestrial and freshwater systems as a tool to holistically answer ecological questions, but trait analysis has not been often applied to marine systems. By considering how traits of incoming colonists change over time, the investigators can untangle which species-level factors most influence abundance and distribution. This project will create an unprecedented long-term (14-year) quantitative time-series of colonist species composition and function. It includes multiple vent sites to encompass the full diversity of habitat conditions, and assesses both local processes and regional connectivity through larval supply. Field observations at individual sites contribute to broader questions when placed in the context of metacommunity theory. In this theoretical framework, field data such as this can be used to answer such questions as how the eradication of the vent community at a particular site affects the persistence of the metacommunity overall, and which vent sites contribute most to regional biodiversity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.