CAREER: Using Otolith Chemistry to Reveal the Life History of Antarctic Toothfish in the Ross Sea, Antarctica: Testing Fisheries and Climate Change Impacts on a Top Fish Predator

职业：利用耳石化学揭示南极洲罗斯海南极齿鱼的生活史：测试渔业和气候变化对顶级鱼类捕食者的影响

• 批准号: 2141555
• 负责人: Cassandra Brooks
• 金额: $ 80.1万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-05-01 至 2027-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2141555&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Using; Otolith; Chemistry; Reveal

The Ross Sea, Antarctica, is one of the last large intact marine ecosystems left in the world, yet is facing increasing pressure from commercial fisheries and environmental change. It is the most productive stretch of the Southern Ocean, supporting an array of marine life, including Antarctic toothfish – the region’s top fish predator. While a commercial fishery for toothfish continues to grow in the Ross Sea, fundamental knowledge gaps remain regarding toothfish ecology and the impacts of toothfish fishing on the broader Ross Sea ecosystem. Recognizing the global value of the Ross Sea, a large (2 million km2) marine protected area was adopted by the multi-national Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in 2016. This research will fill a critical gap in the knowledge of Antarctic toothfish and deepen understanding of biological-physical interactions for fish ecology, while contributing to knowledge of impacts of fishing and environmental change on the Ross Sea system. This work will further provide innovative tools for studying connectivity among geographically distinct fish populations and for synthesizing and assessing the efficacy of a large-scale marine protected area. In developing an integrated research and education program in engaged scholarship, this project seeks to train the next generation of scholars to engage across the science-policy-public interface, engage with Southern Ocean stakeholders throughout the research process, and to deepen the public’s appreciation of the Antarctic. A major research priority among Ross Sea scientists is to better understand the life history of the Antarctic toothfish and test the efficacy of the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area (MPA) in protecting against the impacts of overfishing and climate change. Like growth rings of a tree, fish ear bones, called otoliths, develop annual layers of calcium carbonate that incorporates elements from their environment. Otoliths offer information on the fish’s growth and the surrounding ocean conditions. Hypothesizing that much of the Antarctic toothfish life cycle is structured by ocean circulation, this research employs a multi-disciplinary approach combining age and growth work with otolith chemistry testing, while also utilizing GIS mapping. The project will measure life history parameters as well as trace elements and stable isotopes in otoliths in three distinct sets collected over the last four decades in the Ross Sea. The information will be used to quantify the transport pathways Antarctic toothfish use across their life history, and across time, in the Ross Sea. The project will assess if toothfish populations from the Ross Sea are connected more widely across the Antarctic. By comparing life history and otolith chemistry data across time, the researchers will assess change in life history parameters and spatial dynamics and seek to infer if these changes are driven by fishing or climate change. Spatially mapping of these data will allow an assessment of the efficacy of the Ross Sea MPA in protecting toothfish and where further protections might be needed.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.

南极洲的罗斯海是世界上仅存的几个完整的大型海洋生态系统之一，但面临着商业渔业和环境变化的越来越大的压力。它是南大洋生产力最高的一段，养育了一系列海洋生物，包括南极牙鱼--该地区最大的捕食性鱼类。虽然罗斯海的牙鱼商业渔业继续增长，但关于牙鱼生态和捕捞牙鱼对更广泛的罗斯海生态系统的影响的基本知识差距仍然存在。认识到罗斯海的全球价值，多国南极海洋生物资源保护委员会于2016年通过了一大片(200万平方公里)海洋保护区。这项研究将填补南极牙鱼知识的一个重要空白，加深对鱼类生态的生物-物理相互作用的理解，同时有助于了解捕鱼和环境变化对罗斯海系统的影响。这项工作将进一步为研究地理上不同鱼类种群之间的连通性以及综合和评估大规模海洋保护区的效力提供创新工具。该项目旨在培养下一代学者，在整个研究过程中与南大洋的利益相关方接触，并加深公众对南极的欣赏。罗斯海科学家的一个主要研究重点是更好地了解南极牙鱼的生活史，并测试罗斯海海洋保护区(MPA)在抵御过度捕捞和气候变化影响方面的有效性。就像树木的年轮一样，鱼的耳骨被称为耳石，会形成每年一层的碳酸钙，其中包含了环境中的元素。耳石提供了鱼的生长和周围海洋条件的信息。假设南极牙鱼的大部分生命周期是由海洋环流构成的，这项研究采用了一种多学科的方法，将年龄和生长研究与耳石化学测试结合起来，同时还利用了地理信息系统制图。该项目将测量过去40年在罗斯海收集的三组不同耳石中的生活史参数以及耳石中的微量元素和稳定同位素。这些信息将被用来量化南极牙鱼在罗斯海的生活史和时间上使用的运输路径。该项目将评估罗斯海的牙鱼种群是否在整个南极范围内联系得更广。通过比较不同时间的生活史和耳石化学数据，研究人员将评估生活史参数和空间动态的变化，并试图推断这些变化是由捕鱼还是气候变化驱动的。这些数据的空间测绘将允许评估罗斯海MPA在保护牙鱼方面的有效性以及可能需要进一步保护的地方。这一裁决反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。