Lakes in the Anthropocene: Studying lake ecosystem changes across broad spatial and temporal scales

人类世的湖泊：研究广泛的空间和时间尺度上的湖泊生态系统变化

• 批准号: RGPIN-2017-04548
• 负责人: Smol, John
• 金额: $ 7.87万
• 依托单位: Queen's University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=665509
• 关键词: Lakes; Anthropocene; Studying; lake; ecosystem

One of the greatest challenges faced by ecologists and environmental scientists is the lack of reliable long-term observations. Yet, long-term perspectives (often pre-dating direct observational records) are often required for the study of ecological transitions and thresholds, and particularly during the human-impacted Anthropocene period. Fortunately, strategically selected lake and peat deposits often archive a robust record of past changes that can provide answers to many important questions. This proposal uses established, newly developed, and developing paleoenvironmental approaches to investigate different aspects of global environmental change. Theme 1 melds paleolimnology with the field of conservation biology through projects directed at seabird biovectors, and the use of paleolimnological records to track past changes in avian populations as well as their ecological repercussions (e.g. focussing of nutrients and contaminants into foodwebs). Conservation biologists rarely know the historical population sizes of extinct and threatened species, or how historical population fluctuations correspond to human influence versus climate change, and other environmental stressors. Working in close collaboration with some of Canada's leading ornithologists and focusing on colonies and species of national and international importance, we will study trajectories over time (on decadal to millennial scales) of avian inputs to a strategically selected suite of sites, which will allow us to assess these changes within the broader long-term environmental and climatic context. Questions posed include: How dynamic are bird colonies in space and time on the order of hundreds to thousands of years? Do seabirds move about the landscape as environmental changes occur in their terrestrial or marine habitat? What are the factors influencing these changes on long-time scales? Theme 2 expands our paleolimnological work in the Arctic to studies of the “Northern Great Lakes”. Although considerable progress has been made in understanding ecological transitions and threshold shifts in smaller Arctic lakes and ponds, similar research has lagged in large northern lakes such as Great Slave Lake and Great Bear Lake. We will address fundamental questions for these understudied Northern Great Lakes including: What are the baseline states of these lakes? How has recent warming and other anthropogenic stressors affected these lakes and how do these changes compare to changes reported in smaller lakes? Collectively, these projects will provide outstanding opportunities for the training of our next generation of ecologists and environmental scientists, addressing both fundamental and applied questions linked to conservation biology and aquatic ecology, while providing key information for policymakers and other stakeholders interested in using evidence-based management strategies.

生态学家和环境科学家面临的最大挑战之一是缺乏可靠的长期观测。然而，研究生态转变和阈值往往需要长期的视角(通常在直接观测记录之前)，特别是在人类影响的人类世时期。幸运的是，经过战略选择的湖泊和泥炭沉积通常记录了过去的变化，可以为许多重要问题提供答案。该提案使用已建立的、新开发的和正在开发的古环境方法来研究全球环境变化的不同方面。主题1通过以海鸟生物为目标的项目，将古湖沼学与保护生物学领域相结合，并利用古湖沼学记录来跟踪鸟类种群过去的变化及其生态影响(例如，将营养物质和污染物集中到食物网中)。保护生物学家很少知道灭绝和受威胁物种的历史种群规模，或者历史上的种群波动如何与人类对气候变化的影响以及其他环境压力相对应。我们将与加拿大一些顶尖的鸟类学家密切合作，重点研究在国家和国际上具有重要意义的种群和物种，研究鸟类输入到战略选择的一组地点随时间(十年至千年尺度)的轨迹，这将使我们能够在更广泛的长期环境和气候背景下评估这些变化。提出的问题包括：数百年至数千年的鸟类群体在空间和时间上的动态程度如何？当它们的陆地或海洋栖息地发生环境变化时，海鸟会在景观中移动吗？在长期尺度上影响这些变化的因素是什么？主题2将我们在北极的古潜水学工作扩展到“北方五大湖”的研究。尽管在理解北极较小湖泊和池塘的生态转变和门槛变化方面取得了相当大的进展，但类似的研究在大奴湖和大熊湖等北方大型湖泊中却落后。我们将解决这些未得到充分研究的北方五大湖的基本问题，包括：这些湖泊的基线状态是什么？最近的变暖和其他人为压力对这些湖泊有什么影响？这些变化与报告的较小湖泊的变化相比如何？总的来说，这些项目将为培训我们的下一代生态学家和环境科学家提供绝佳的机会，解决与保护生物学和水生生态学有关的基本和应用问题，同时为有兴趣使用循证管理战略的政策制定者和其他利益攸关方提供关键信息。