A towed camera system for benthic research

用于海底研究的拖曳式摄像系统

• 批准号: 407536-2011
• 负责人: Scheibling, Robert
• 金额: $ 2.2万
• 依托单位: Dalhousie University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2010-01-01 至 2011-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=472652
• 关键词: towed; camera; system; benthic; research

A towed-camera system will support research proposed in my NSERC Discovery Grant. The main goals of my ongoing research program are 1) to investigate the role of biological and physical processes in regulating the structure and dynamics of the shallow marine ecosystem in eastern Canada, 2) to determine the ecological consequences of large-scale shifts in ecosystem state, from kelp beds to sea urchin barrens, on ecosystem function and services (e.g. food production, habitat provision, nutrient cycling), within the shallow subtidal zone and in sedimentary habitats in deeper water; and 3) to develop mathematical models to predict change and identify important causal factors and follow-on effects, which will aid in the assessment of ecosystem health and management of natural resources. The proposed towed-camera system will enable us to greatly extend the depth range of our previous SCUBA-based observations and to explore, for the first time, patterns and processes of connectivity between the dynamic shallow-water system and deep-water assemblages that depend on temporally variable food inputs (in the form of seaweed detritus) from the shallows. Specifically, we will examine patterns in offshore distribution of kelp beds and urchin barrens, and shifts in the interface between these communities that are associated with fluctuations in urchin abundance caused by harvesting and disease. We will measure the transfer rate of algal detritus from kelp beds to deeper sedimentary bottoms (particularly after large storm events such as hurricanes), and record changes in distribution and foraging behaviour of deep-living urchins in response to storm disturbance. In a more general sense, this videographic data will enable us to document patterns of biodiversity in nearshore habitats below the limits of kelp beds, presenting many opportunities for training graduate and undergraduate students in the fundamental and applied aspects of marine ecology.

一个拖曳相机系统将支持我的NSERC发现补助金中提出的研究。我正在进行的研究计划的主要目标是1）调查生物和物理过程在调节加拿大东部浅海生态系统结构和动态中的作用，2）确定生态系统状态从海带床到海胆贫瘠地的大规模转变对生态系统功能和服务的生态后果（如粮食生产、生境供应、养分循环）;以及3）开发数学模型来预测变化并确定重要的因果因素和后续影响，这将有助于评估生态系统健康和自然资源管理。拟议的拖曳相机系统将使我们能够大大扩展我们以前的SCUBA为基础的观测深度范围，并探索，第一次，模式和动态浅水系统和深水组合之间的连接过程，依赖于时间可变的食物输入（以海藻碎屑的形式）从浅水。具体来说，我们将研究模式在近海分布的海带床和海胆贫瘠，并在这些社区之间的界面变化，与海胆丰度的波动所造成的收获和疾病。我们将测量海藻碎屑从海带床转移到更深的沉积底部的速率（特别是在飓风等大型风暴事件之后），并记录深层生活海胆的分布和觅食行为对风暴扰动的反应。 在更广泛的意义上，这种视频数据将使我们能够记录模式的生物多样性在近岸栖息地低于限制的海带床，提供了许多机会，培养研究生和本科生在海洋生态学的基础和应用方面。