Network-based biomonitoring of freshwater ecosystems in relation to anthropogenic impacts

水生生态系统面临着人类活动在一系列空间和时间尺度上的压力，表现为多种压力源情景。我的研究重点是通过诊断的发展来提高对这些压力后果的理解，包括基于驱动物种从地点到区域尺度转换的潜在机制的压力特异性指标的测试。我将在局部到区域尺度上研究多重压力源对淡水大型无脊椎动物生物多样性的影响。这将通过将主要大型无脊椎动物类群对特定压力源（例如杀虫剂、干旱）的敏感性的现有知识与对特征状态（“特征”）如何通过环境过滤导致物种损失的机制理解相结合来实现。我正在寻求项目资助期内的三个学生的支持。在第一年，MSc学生1将研究受人类进入干扰的河流洪泛区环境梯度下的食物网网络特性。这将使用DNA元条形码和注释的组合，以及从文献和在线数据库来源获得的先验知识。同样在一年级，博士生一将结合大型国际重要内陆湿地综合体（阿尔伯塔伍德布法罗国家公园的和平-阿萨巴斯卡三角洲）的环境和生物监测观测数据的大型数据库，探索由先验知识（即食物网链接库、基于特征的分析和文献综述）产生的食物网结构与现有生态质量措施之间的关系。包括一个数据系列（2010-2018）的分子分类数据。该研究的目的是探索在受人为影响的景观中，食物网结构变异性（如营养高度、连锁密度）可以更有效地用作管理工具。在第三年，与他人合作，硕士生2将扩展这种数据挖掘方法，专注于从大型网络文献语料库中提取有关生物体体型的特定定量信息。他们的项目将集中于加拿大的分类群或来自其他地区（欧洲、北美）的密切相关的代理分类群。通过其在生态系统尺度上的关注，处理大空间尺度上的环境观测和监测，上述研究在国际层面上是雄心勃勃的。这项工作不仅可以实现，而且将为监测人类世的淡水生态系统提供一个新的基准。除了改善生态系统管理的实际好处外，该研究还为HQP提供了一个独特的培训机会，特别是考虑到在赠款的整个生命周期内可以从其他来源获得相关资金。最后，所获得的研究成果将为检验生物多样性和食物网理论的关键要素提供极好的机会，具有潜在的全球应用前景。

Aquatic ecosystems face pressures from human activities operating at a range of spatial and temporal scales, manifested through multiple stressor scenarios. My research focuses on improving understanding of the consequences of these pressures through development of diagnostics, including testing of stressor-specific indicators based on underlying mechanisms driving species turnover from site-to-regional scales. I will study multiple stressor impacts at local to regional scales on the biodiversity of freshwater macroinvertebrates. This will be achieved by aligning existing knowledge of the sensitivity of key macroinvertebrate taxa to specific stressors (e.g. pesticides, drought) with a mechanistic understanding of how character states - 'traits' - can result in species loss through environmental filtering. I am seeking support for three studentships within the project funding period. In Year 1, MSc student-1 will study food web network properties along a river floodplain environmental gradient subject to human access disturbance. This will be done using a combination of DNA metabarcoding and annotation with prior knowledge derived from literature and on-line database sources. Also in Year 1, PhD Student-1 will explore the relationship between food web structure generated from prior knowledge (i.e. food web links libraries, traits-based analysis and literature review) and existing measures of ecological quality, in combination with a large database of linked environmental and biomonitoring observational data from a large inland wetland complex of international importance (the Peace-Athabasca Delta in Wood Buffalo National Park, Alberta), including a data series (2010-2018) of molecular taxonomic data. The aim of the study will be to explore food web structural variability (e.g. trophic height, linkage density) can be used more effectively as a management tool within anthropogenically-influenced landscapes. In Year 3, in collaboration with others, MSc Student 2 will extend this data-mining approach to focus on the extraction of specific quantitative information on organism body size from a large corpus of online literature. Their project will focus on Canadian taxa or closely-related proxy taxa from other regions (Europe, North America). Through its focus at ecosystem scale, dealing with environmental observation and monitoring at large spatial scales, the research described above is ambitious at an international level. This work is not only achievable, but will provide a new benchmark for monitoring freshwater ecosystems in the Anthropocene. In addition to the practical benefits of improved ecosystem management, the research offers a unique training opportunity for HQP, particularly given the linked funding available from other sources over the lifetime of the grant. Finally, the research results obtained will provide excellent opportunity to test key elements of biodiversity and food web theory with potential global application.