Purchase of an upright fluorescence microscope

本次申请购买一台立式亮场徕卡DM5000 B显微镜，配备差干涉对比、荧光、数码相机和图像分析软件。该系统将在未来三年内用于若干研究项目，结合地质、生物和生态方法，记录和了解各种海洋生态系统中的微藻群落。荧光显微镜可以对鞭毛藻和其他海洋微藻的鉴定、形态、生存能力和营养特性（是否进行光合作用的能力）进行详细的研究。其中一个项目将重点研究北极地区的鞭毛藻（单细胞原生生物）及其囊肿。由于北极海冰的融化，航运的潜在增加将伴随着航运的增加和紧张的压载水的摄入/交换，这是维持船舶稳定性所必需的。鞭毛藻及其囊可在压载水中存活数周，并在压载水池排空或冲洗时侵入新的区域。因此，我们需要记录它们在北极地区的丰度和分布，以便监测潜在的入侵者，并有效地帮助制定缓解措施。鞭毛藻可以产生有毒的水华（例如2008年圣劳伦斯河口的水华），并导致鱼类、鸟类和海洋哺乳动物大量死亡。在圣劳伦斯河口，tamarense Alexandrium会产生休眠的囊肿，这些囊肿可能在形成几个月后发芽，在上层沉积物层中休眠，并作为未来有毒水华的“种子库”。因此，我们需要记录圣劳伦斯河口/海湾地区囊床的空间分布，以帮助预测未来的水华事件。另一个项目将根据鞭毛藻囊组合提供过去2000年的古海洋学重建（温度、盐度和海冰覆盖）（特别强调工业化前/工业化过渡）。这将提供关于实际全球变暖开始之前普遍存在的海洋条件的宝贵数据，并有助于未来的气候情景。

This proposal is to purchase an upright bright field Leica DM5000 B microscope equipped with differential interference contrast, fluorescence, digital camera and image analysis software. The system will be used in several research projects combining geological, biological and ecological approaches over the next 3 years to document and understand microalgal communities in various marine ecosystems. The fluorescence microscope allows for detailed studies on the identification, morphology, viability and trophic character (ability to photosynthesize or not) of dinoflagellates and other marine microalgae. One project will focus on dinoflagellates (unicellular protists) and their cysts in Arctic regions. The potential increase of shipping due to the melting of sea ice in the Arctic will be accompanied by increased shipping and intense ballast water intake/exchange, which is necessary to maintain the ships stability. Dinoflagellates and their cysts can survive several weeks in the ballast water and invade new areas when the ballast reservoirs are emptied or flushed. Therefore, we need to document their abundance and distribution in Arctic regions in order to monitor potential invaders and to effectively help developing mitigation measures. Dinoflagellates can produce toxic blooms (e.g. St. Lawrence Estuary in 2008) and cause massive deaths in the fish, bird and marine mammal populations. In the St. Lawrence Estuary, Alexandrium tamarense produces resting cysts that may germinate several months after being formed, lying dormant in the upper sediment layer, and acting as a "seed bank" for future toxic blooms. Therefore, we need to document the spatial distribution of the cyst beds within the Estuary/Gulf of St. Lawrence area to help anticipate future bloom episodes. Another project will be providing paleoceanographic reconstructions (temperature, salinity and sea ice cover) for the last 2000 years (with particular emphasis on the pre-industrial/industrial transition) based on dinoflagellate cyst assemblages. This will provide precious data on the oceanic conditions that prevailed prior to the onset of the actual global warming, and contribute to future climate scenarios.