Collaborative Research: THE BENTHIC MICROALGAL SUBSIDY IN ESTUARINE ECOSYSTEMS

合作研究：河口生态系统中的底栖微藻补贴

• 批准号: 2241831
• 负责人: Craig Plante
• 金额: $ 15.92万
• 依托单位: College of Charleston
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-01 至 2026-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2241831&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; BENTHIC; MICROALGAL; SUBSIDY

Estuaries are nurseries that are critical habitat for many commercially and recreationally important species. The base of the food web in these systems is supplied by microalgal primary production in both the water column (phytoplankton) and the sediments (benthic microalgae). This project focuses on quantifying the contribution of benthic microalgae to total ecosystem primary production in the North Inlet Estuary, SC. Benthic microalgal production estimates along an elevational gradient (low to high tide region) are then used to assess responses to the impending sea level rise. The results have implications for wetlands valuation, carbon credits, trophodynamics, and carbon storage in estuarine ecosystems. This research is transformative in that it provides the first ever comprehensive measures of intertidal, ecosystem-level benthic microalgal contributions to total net primary production to evaluate the ecological importance of BMA for estuarine ecosystem processes and functions. The research results will likely restructure our understanding and current paradigms of energy flow and cycling processes in estuaries. In addition to the research activities, the project involves the mentorship of graduate students and undergraduates, with efforts to recruit students from historically underrepresented groups; incorporation of findings into educational materials for teachers and K-12 students; and a community science program in collaboration with the National Estuarine Research Reserve.Our current understanding of ecosystem net primary production in southeastern estuaries is missing a fundamental component that may, in fact, provide as much as a third of the fixed C fueling the high biomass of upper trophic levels. The concept of a major benthic microalgal-based subsidy contradicts the traditional views that phytoplankton and detritus-based food webs are the only energy sources for most southeastern estuaries. This project quantitatively determines the relative BMA contribution by characterizing the spatiotemporal variability in BMA NPP to estimate the annual ecosystem-level contribution to total system NPP. The primary objective is the measurement of estuarine intertidal BMA NPP, biomass, community composition, and relevant environmental variables (nutrients, grain size, porosity, etc.) along fixed transects that span the intertidal elevational gradient from mean low water to mean high water and incorporate these results in a GIS DEM to calculate ecosystem-level BMA NPP. Furthermore, the GIS model predicts shifts in the magnitude and spatial distribution of BMA NPP resulting from various sea-level rise scenarios.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.

河口是许多商业和娱乐重要物种的重要栖息地。这些系统中食物网的基础由水柱（浮游植物）和沉积物（底栖微藻）中的微藻初级生产提供。该项目的重点是量化底栖微藻对南卡罗来纳州北湾河口生态系统初级生产总量的贡献。然后利用沿海拔梯度（低潮区到高潮区）的底栖微藻产量估算来评估对即将到来的海平面上升的反应。研究结果对湿地评估、碳信用额、营养动力学和河口生态系统碳储存具有影响。这项研究具有变革性，因为它首次全面测量了潮间带、生态系统水平的底栖微藻对总净初级生产力的贡献，以评估 BMA 对河口生态系统过程和功能的生态重要性。研究结果可能会重构我们对河口能量流动和循环过程的理解和当前范式。除了研究活动外，该项目还包括对研究生和本科生的指导，努力从历史上代表性不足的群体中招收学生；将研究结果纳入教师和 K-12 学生的教育材料中；以及与国家河口研究保护区合作的社区科学计划。我们目前对东南河口生态系统净初级生产的理解缺少一个基本组成部分，事实上，这个基本组成部分可能提供多达三分之一的固定碳，为上营养层的高生物量提供燃料。主要底栖微藻补贴的概念与传统观点相矛盾，传统观点认为浮游植物和碎屑食物网是大多数东南河口的唯一能源。该项目通过表征 BMA NPP 的时空变异性来定量确定相对 BMA 贡献，以估计年度生态系统水平对总系统 NPP 的贡献。主要目标是沿跨越从平均低水位到平均高水位的潮间带海拔梯度的固定样带测量河口潮间带 BMA NPP、生物量、群落组成和相关环境变量（养分、颗粒尺寸、孔隙度等），并将这些结果纳入 GIS DEM 中以计算生态系统层面的 BMA NPP。此外，GIS 模型还预测了各种海平面上升情景导致的 BMA NPP 规模和空间分布的变化。该奖项反映了 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。