Expansion of facilities for larval ecology

生活在海底的无脊椎生物，如海星、海胆、螃蟹、龙虾、蛤蜊和贻贝，有着复杂的生命周期。作为成年人，它们在海底生活和觅食，但它们产生的幼虫可能会在水柱中度过几个小时到几个月，被水流携带。 成熟后，幼虫移近海底，附着在海底，经过一系列形态和生理变化，变成幼鱼。这些幼鱼长成有生殖能力的成年鱼。返回成年种群的新补充数量将取决于在水柱中存活、迁移到海底并成功转变为幼鱼的幼鱼数量。虽然我们了解影响成虫生存的因素，因为它们相对较大的尺寸和栖息地的可达性，但我们对幼虫和幼虫的生存知之甚少。我们的研究将集中在影响幼虫和少年生存的因素，以及这些生活史阶段之间的过渡。为了实现这一目标，我们使用现场采样，实验室实验和数学建模，并侧重于栖息地从浅水潮下带到深海。在实地，我们将描述物理环境（温度、盐度和叶绿素的垂直梯度），并在不同深度收集样本，以测量与这些物理特征有关的幼虫丰度。在本提案中，我们要求提供资金，以购买一台能够测量电导率、温度和深度并能真实的提供数据的仪器。我们还要求资金购买显微镜，使我们能够处理我们的幼虫样本。了解在这些早期生命史阶段发生的过程以及各阶段之间的联系，对于成功管理无脊椎动物物种和渔业以及海洋保护区内种群的成功至关重要。

Invertebrate organisms that live on the seafloor, such as sea stars, sea urchins, crabs, lobsters, clams and mussels, have complex life cycles. As adults, they live and feed on the seafloor, but they produce larvae which may spend from a few hours to months in the water column, being carried around by currents. After they mature, larvae move near the seafloor, attach to it and, following a sequence of morphological and physiological changes, turn into juveniles. These juveniles grow into reproductive adults. The number of new recruits that return to the adult populations will depend on the number of larvae that survive the period spent in the water column, migrate to the seafloor and transition successfully into juveniles. Although we understand the factors that affect survival of adults because of their relatively large size and accessibility of their habitat, we know less about larval and juvenile survival. Our research will focus on factors that influence larval and juvenile survival, as well as the transition between these life history stages. To address this objective we use field sampling, laboratory experiments and mathematical modeling, and focus on habitats ranging from the shallow subtidal to the deep sea. In the field, we will describe the physical environment (vertical gradients in temperature, salinity and chlorophyll) and collect samples at different depths to measure larval abundance in relation to these physical characteristics. In this proposal, we request funds to purchase an instrument that can measure conductivity, temperature and depth and provide the data in real time. We also request funds to purchase a microscope that will allow us to process our larval samples. Understanding the processes that occur at these early life history stages, as well as the linkages between stages, is important for the successful management of invertebrate species and fisheries, and the success of populations in marine protected areas.