RUI: Collaborative Research: Assessing the causes of the pyrosome invasion and persistence in the California Current Ecosystem

RUI：合作研究：评估加州当前生态系统中火体入侵和持续存在的原因

• 批准号: 2329561
• 负责人: Jennifer Prairie
• 金额: $ 8.18万
• 依托单位: University of San Diego
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-07-01 至 2027-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2329561&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Collaborative; Research; Assessing; causes

A key component of the ocean food web is comprised of floating animals, or zooplankton, that transfer energy from phytoplankton to fish, whales, and birds. Zooplankton include many different types of organisms that can be broadly categorized as crustacean or gelatinous, with most fish and whales preferring crustaceans as a fat-rich food source over gelatinous animals, which are higher in water content. Historically, the California Current ecosystem off the U.S. West Coast has been dominated by crustacean zooplankton, such as krill and copepods, but in 2014 there were huge abundances of a type of colonial, gelatinous zooplankton known as pyrosomes, which caused widespread damage to fisheries by fouling fishing gear and dominating catch. Although the arrival of pyrosomes coincided with an extensive marine heatwave, lower abundances have since persisted despite a return to cooler ocean temperatures. Analysis of time series data from the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) indicate that pyrosomes were also observed in the California Current many decades ago when the ocean was not particularly warm. This study combines analysis of past samples from CalCOFI, ocean circulation models, and biological models to understand the causes of these quickly growing pyrosome populations in the California Current. It supports training for undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, the project is reaching K-12 students through a unique partnership with the San Diego County Office of Education that is developing Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-aligned resources for middle and high school science teachers in California. The educational resources are being disseminated through the California Science Project and California Environmental Literacy Initiative. Public outreach in San Diego (CA) is through the Enhancing Your Horizons San Diego conference and the San Diego Regional Competition of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, and in Santa Cruz (CA) through the Seymour Marine Discovery Center.Predicting how ecosystems respond to accelerating climate change is a major challenge. The recent appearance of the pyrosome Pyrosoma atlanticum in the California Current is a major perturbation to the ecosystem, and the cause remains unknown. Both ocean physics and plankton food-web dynamics are key determinants of variability in pelagic community composition in this ecosystem, yet unraveling the degree to which variability in physics (through warming and advection) combines with shifting biological interactions (through nutrient cycling and altered food-web dynamics) to determine composition and function is complicated. This project combines the analysis of past historical samples from seven decades of the CalCOFI time series, data-assimilative and non-data assimilative ocean circulation models, and biological population models to determine the role ocean physics and biological interactions have played in shaping pyrosome abundance, trophic dynamics, and population growth and mortality in the California Current. This novel framework is providing mechanistic understanding that is required to predict how plankton communities respond to climate change.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.

海洋食物网的一个关键组成部分是由漂浮的动物或浮游动物组成，它们将能量从浮游植物转移到鱼类，鲸鱼和鸟类。浮游动物包括许多不同类型的生物，可以大致分为甲壳类或凝胶类，大多数鱼类和鲸鱼更喜欢甲壳类作为富含脂肪的食物来源，而不是含水量较高的凝胶类动物。从历史上看，加州当前美国西海岸的生态系统一直由磷虾和桡足类等甲壳类浮游动物主导，但在2014年，一种被称为火体的殖民性凝胶状浮游动物大量出现，这对渔具造成了广泛的破坏，并主导了捕捞。虽然火体虫的到来与广泛的海洋热浪相吻合，但尽管海洋温度恢复到较低的水平，但丰度较低的情况一直持续下去。从加州合作海洋渔业调查（CalCOFI）的时间序列数据的分析表明，在加州电流几十年前，当海洋不是特别温暖的时候，也观察到火小体。这项研究结合了对CalCOFI、海洋环流模型和生物模型过去样本的分析，以了解加州海流中这些快速增长的火小体种群的原因。 它支持对本科生和研究生的培训。此外，该项目还通过与圣地亚哥县教育办公室的独特合作关系接触K-12学生，该办公室正在为加州的初中和高中科学教师开发与下一代科学标准（NGSS）一致的资源。教育资源正通过加州科学项目和加州环境扫盲倡议传播。圣地亚哥（加利福尼亚州）的公众宣传活动是通过“提高你的视野”圣地亚哥会议和国家海洋科学碗圣地亚哥地区竞赛进行的，而在圣克鲁斯（加利福尼亚州）则是通过西摩海洋发现中心进行的。预测生态系统如何应对加速的气候变化是一项重大挑战。最近在加州海流中出现的大西洋火体对生态系统是一个重大的扰动，其原因仍然未知。海洋物理学和浮游生物食物网动态是该生态系统中浮游生物群落组成变化的关键决定因素，但要弄清物理学变化（通过变暖和平流）与生物相互作用变化（通过营养循环和改变食物网动态）相结合以确定组成和功能的程度是复杂的。该项目结合了过去的历史样本的分析，从七十年的CalCOFI时间序列，数据同化和非数据同化的海洋环流模型，和生物种群模型，以确定海洋物理和生物相互作用的作用，在塑造焦浆体丰度，营养动力学，人口增长和死亡率在加州电流。这个新的框架提供了预测浮游生物群落如何应对气候变化所需的机械理解。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。