The role of glass sponge reefs in nutrient cycling: inputs, outputs, and evidence of population changes through the millennia

玻璃海绵礁在养分循环中的作用：输入、输出和数千年来人口变化的证据

• 批准号: 405748-2011
• 负责人: Kahn, Amanda
• 金额: $ 3.64万
• 依托单位: University of Alberta
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships - Doctoral
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2012-01-01 至 2013-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=515599
• 关键词: role; glass; sponge; reefs; nutrient

Glass sponges form dense reefs covering hundreds of kilometers of seafloor in the shallow waters of British Columbia. The sponges provide a unique habitat for commercially important rockfishes, but their role in local biogeochemical cycling has not yet been explored. The reefs are under consideration for protection from trawling and other fishing operations, but their role as sources of carbon (food) and silicon (skeletal material) for other less productive habitats nearby may be of equal if not greater importance. In the proposed work, a sponge "carbon signature" will be traced downstream of the reefs using fatty acid and stable isotope analyses from sediment traps, cores, water samples, and sponge samples. This signature will be used to trace carbon inputs into the reefs and the fate of that carbon once it is processed by the sponges. Rates of silicon uptake, which have historically been below detection limits of current methods, will be integrated over time using a novel method involving the dye PDMPO to mark growth rings in spicules. Finally, the robustness and extent of these reefs will be examined using sediment cores collected around British Columbia by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. Combining the different approaches and novel methods proposed here will provide a clear picture of the role sponge reefs play in carbon and silicon cycling and will help inform policymakers for decisions on future marine protected areas.

玻璃海绵形成密集的珊瑚礁，覆盖不列颠哥伦比亚省浅水区数百公里的海底。海绵为具有重要商业价值的石斑鱼提供了独特的栖息地，但它们在当地生物地球化学循环中的作用尚未被探索。正在考虑保护珊瑚礁免受拖网捕捞和其他捕捞作业的影响，但它们作为附近其他生产力较低的栖息地的碳（食物）和硅（骨骼材料）来源的作用即使不是更重要，也可能同等重要。 在拟议的工作中，将使用来自沉积物捕集器、岩心、水样和海绵样本的脂肪酸和稳定同位素分析来追踪珊瑚礁下游的海绵“碳特征”。 该签名将用于追踪进入珊瑚礁的碳输入以及这些碳被海绵处理后的去向。 硅的吸收率历来低于当前方法的检测限，随着时间的推移，将使用一种涉及染料 PDMPO 的新方法来积分，以标记骨针中的生长环。 最后，将使用综合海洋钻探计划在不列颠哥伦比亚省周围收集的沉积岩芯来检查这些珊瑚礁的坚固性和范围。 结合这里提出的不同方法和新颖方法，将清楚地了解海绵礁在碳和硅循环中所发挥的作用，并将有助于决策者就未来海洋保护区的决策提供信息。