Modeling the environmental interactions involving a key species in the Bay of Fundy ecosystem in relation to local and global change scenarios

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Our proposed research falls within the scope of understanding factors augmenting or limiting healthy ecosystems. The Bay of Fundy is a very productive and dynamic ecosystem that is economically important. Strong tidal currents in the bay erode surrounding cliffs of soft siltstone and shale, leading to the establishment of extensive mudflats in the upper bay. These mudflats are rich habitats, densely inhabited by an amphipod, Corophium volutator (hereafter Corophium). These amphipods appear to consolidate sediments by their burrow-building activities and so stabilize the mudflats. Also, they are rich in fatty acids and are a major food of fish and migratory shorebirds. Given its worth and uniqueness, the upper Bay of Fundy has been designated part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, as well as a biosphere reserve in UNESCO's Man