Collaborative Research: RAPID: Sea Star Wasting Disease in the High Antarctic: Deciphering the Role of Shifting Carbon and Climate Cycles on a Keystone Predator

合作研究：RAPID：南极高地的海星消耗性疾病：破译碳和气候循环变化对关键捕食者的作用

• 批准号: 2325047
• 负责人: Amy Moran
• 金额: $ 4.68万
• 依托单位: University of Hawaii
• 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: 2023-08-01 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2325047&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; RAPID; Sea; Star

This RAPID project aims to study a sporadic occurrence of sea star wasting syndrome (SSWS) in McMurdo sound by leveraging diving resources of a CAREER grant to Thurber. The disease was first noted in 2019, with a second occurrence documented by the group at their study site near a methane seep at Cinder Cone in McMurdo Sound in 2022. Sea stars are key species in many benthic ecosystems, including the Antarctic, and this disease has caused significant losses in populations worldwide. In the Southern Ocean, the sea star Odontaster validus preys upon Acodontaster conspicuous, a predator of Antarctic giant sponges. In 2022, about 30% of the O. validus at the methane seep were affected. The conditions associated with the disease in other areas are environmental hypoxia, warm temperatures, and organic enrichment. This recent outbreak provides the opportunity to study how the disease may progress in the Southern Ocean, and test the hypothesis that oxygen dynamics play a key role in the development of SSWS. The investigators aim to measure oxygen concentrations on and off the Cinder Cone seep and at the surface of affected and unaffected sea stars and identify whether the disease causes and microbiome characteristics of SSWS are similar between Antarctic and non-Antarctic outbreaks. These findings can be used to understand the potential effects of future climate conditions on disease outbreaks of Southern Ocean marine organisms critical to ecosystem function and health. In addition to disease dynamics, the study will also help to understand how methane seepage impacts benthic oxygen dynamics. Other broader impacts include communicating the research through a student led YouTube documentary and facilitating the transition of an early career URM researcher from NSF postdoc to a faculty position (lead on viral component of the project).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.

这个快速的项目旨在通过利用向瑟伯（Thurber）的职业资助来研究McMurdo Sound中海星浪费综合症（SSW）的零星发生。该疾病于2019年首次注意到，该小组在其研究地点进行了第二次发生的记录，该研究地点在2022年的麦克穆尔多湾的煤炭锥附近的甲烷渗水附近。在南大洋中，Sea Star Odontaster Validus捕食Acodontaster的捕食，这是南极巨型海绵的捕食者。 在2022年，甲烷渗漏处约有30％的O. valius受到影响。与其他地区疾病相关的状况是环境缺氧，温度温暖和有机富集。这次最近的暴发提供了研究该疾病在南大洋中如何进展的机会，并检验了氧气动力学在SSW的发展中起关键作用的假设。研究人员旨在测量煤渣锥渗入和未受影响的海星表面的氧气浓度，并确定SSW的疾病原因和微生物组特征是否相似，而南极和非北极疫情之间是相似的。这些发现可用于了解未来气候状况对对生态系统功能和健康至关重要的南洋海洋生物爆发的潜在影响。除了疾病动力学外，该研究还将有助于了解甲烷渗漏如何影响底栖氧动力学。其他更广泛的影响包括通过学生领导的YouTube纪录片来沟通研究，并促进了早期职业URM研究人员从NSF PostDoc转变为教师职位（该项目的病毒组成部分的负责人）。该奖项反映了NSF的法规任务，并认为通过基金会的知识优点和广泛的crietia crietia criter criter crietia criter criteria crietia crietia crietia crietia crietia crietia crietia crietia crietia crietia cristia crietia cristia crietia均值得一提。