Using novel ecosystem-scale experiments to quantify drivers of reef productivity in a heavily impacted coastal ecosystem

使用新颖的生态系统规模实验来量化受严重影响的沿海生态系统中珊瑚礁生产力的驱动因素

• 批准号: 1948622
• 负责人: Jacob Allgeier
• 金额: $ 67.52万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-04-01 至 2025-03-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1948622&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Using; novel; ecosystem; scale; experiments

Tropical coastal marine ecosystems (e.g., coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangroves) are among the most productive ecosystems in the world providing important services, such as fisheries, to millions of people. Despite this, they are also among the most impaired ecosystems, necessitating improved understanding of the mechanisms that underpin their productivity. This project seeks to understand the key factors that drive ecosystem production in a degraded coastal ecosystem in Haiti using artificial reefs. Past research has shown that artificial reefs have substantial potential to increase the number and diversity of plants and animals, but the extent to which this can be achieved at scales relevant to society remains unknown. This project is constructing clusters of artificial reefs to test how (1) spatial arrangement and (2) fishing pressure (fished/not fished) influence the productivity of seagrass, coral, and fish over the course of four years. The fishing treatment is being implemented through collaborations with local fishers whereby small-scale no-take zones are created around three of the six artificial reef clusters. A unique aspect of the research is that it capitalizes on the experimental design to simultaneously achieve an important conservation initiative, while testing ecological theory. Community engagement and outreach are integrated directly into the research and local fishers are being surveyed to assess the extent to which fishing occurred on any of the artificial reefs. This research represents a novel effort to integrate experimentation with cutting-edge community-based conservation initiatives in one of the most impoverished regions of the world. The project is improving strategies for conservation and reef management.Identifying the factors that regulate the structure and function of ecosystems is a fundamental challenge for ecological theory and applied science. This challenge is often framed within the context of Top-Down (TD) versus Bottom-Up (BU) regulation, but the extent to which this framework can predict processes in complex, real-world ecosystems is not fully understood. It is now widely recognized that TD/BU factors do not act in isolation. For example, in many ecosystems, consumers contribute to both TD (via consumption) and BU (via excretion) pathways. Environmental factors, including human-induced change, can further alter the nature of these interactions. Quantifying the strength of TD and BU pathways and the extent to which they regulate the structure and function in highly dynamic ecosystems requires an experimental system that is sufficiently tractable that all its components can be quantified, while still being representative of real ecosystems. To address this challenge, this research project creates a unique ecosystem-scale artificial reef (AR) experiment in Haiti to test how two factors (AR structure, and fishing pressure) alter the strength of independent and interactive TD and BU pathways to regulate the structure and function of real-world reef ecosystems. Over the course of four years, the production of seagrass (surrounding the ARs), coral (transplanted onto the ARs), and fish (in and around the ARs) is being measured, providing a quantitative assessment of ecosystem-level production across the two treatments. Linear and structural equation models are used to measure the independent and interactive strengths TD and BU pathways, and to identify the suite of directional relationships between each trophic level that best predict overall ecosystem production. Harnessing the ability to use ecosystem-scale experiments and quantify production across all trophic levels in a highly complex, real-world system enables an unprecedented test of TD/BU theory.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.

热带沿海海洋生态系统（例如，珊瑚礁、海草床和红树林）是世界上最具生产力的生态系统之一，为数百万人提供渔业等重要服务。尽管如此，它们也是受损最严重的生态系统之一，因此必须更好地了解支撑其生产力的机制。该项目旨在了解在海地使用人工鱼礁的退化沿海生态系统中驱动生态系统生产的关键因素。过去的研究显示，人工鱼礁有很大的潜力增加动植物的数量和多样性，但在与社会相关的规模上，这一点能在多大程度上实现仍然是未知的。该项目正在建造人工鱼礁群，以测试（1）空间布局和（2）捕捞压力（捕捞/不捕捞）如何影响海草，珊瑚和鱼类的生产力，为期四年。渔护署正与本地渔民合作，在六个人工鱼礁群中的三个周围设立小规模禁捕区，以实施渔护措施。这项研究的一个独特之处在于，它利用实验设计，同时实现了一个重要的保护倡议，同时测试生态理论。社区参与和外展直接纳入研究，并对当地渔民进行调查，以评估在任何人工鱼礁上捕鱼的程度。这项研究代表了一种新的努力，将实验与世界上最贫困地区之一的尖端社区保护计划相结合。该项目正在改进养护和珊瑚礁管理战略，确定调节生态系统结构和功能的因素是生态理论和应用科学面临的一项根本挑战。这一挑战通常是在自上而下（TD）与自下而上（BU）监管的背景下提出的，但这一框架在多大程度上可以预测复杂的现实世界生态系统中的过程还没有完全理解。现在人们普遍认识到，技术发展/业务单位因素并不是孤立地起作用的。例如，在许多生态系统中，消费者对TD（通过消费）和BU（通过排泄）途径都有贡献。环境因素，包括人类引起的变化，可以进一步改变这些相互作用的性质。量化TD和BU途径的强度以及它们在高度动态的生态系统中调节结构和功能的程度，需要一个实验系统，该系统足够易于处理，其所有组成部分都可以量化，同时仍然代表真实的生态系统。 为了应对这一挑战，该研究项目在海地创建了一个独特的生态系统规模的人工礁（AR）实验，以测试两个因素（AR结构和捕捞压力）如何改变独立和互动的TD和BU途径的强度，以调节现实世界珊瑚礁生态系统的结构和功能。在四年的时间里，正在测量海草（人工湿地周围）、珊瑚（移植到人工湿地上）和鱼类（人工湿地内和周围）的产量，从而对两种处理方式的生态系统一级的产量进行定量评估。线性和结构方程模型被用来衡量独立和相互作用的力量TD和BU途径，并确定每个营养级之间的方向关系，最好地预测整体生态系统生产套件。利用生态系统规模的实验和量化生产在一个高度复杂的现实世界的系统中的所有营养级的能力，使TD/BU理论的前所未有的测试。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得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的支持。

项目成果

Water column contributions to coral reef productivity: overcoming challenges of context dependence

水柱对珊瑚礁生产力的贡献：克服环境依赖的挑战

• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Biological reviews
• 影响因子: 10
• 作者: Anjali Shakya;Jacob Allgeier
• 通讯作者: Jacob Allgeier

The Natural Capital of seagrass beds in the Caribbean: evaluating their ecosystem services and blue carbon trade potential

加勒比地区海草床的自然资本：评估其生态系统服务和蓝碳贸易潜力

• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Biology letters
• 影响因子: 3.3
• 作者: Bridget Shayka, Maximillian Hesselbarth

Seagrass production around artificial reefs is resistant to human stressors

人工鱼礁周围的海草生产能够抵抗人类压力

• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London
• 作者: Mona Andskog, Craig Layman