A multi-scale approach to identifying the ecological impact of co-occurring environmental stressors

识别同时发生的环境压力源的生态影响的多尺度方法

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-04315
• 负责人: Arnott, Shelley
• 金额: $ 3.42万
• 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: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=737552
• 关键词: multi; scale; approach; identifying; ecological

Freshwater resources are critical to Canada's economy and cultural identity. Over 70% of the drinking water in Ontario comes from surface waters, and recreational fisheries across Canada contribute $8.3 billion to local economies. Despite this, human activities are dramatically altering species composition in freshwater habitats, which threatens ecosystem function and the provision of valuable services. An abundance of research has looked at the impact of individual environmental stressors (e.g., nutrients, temperature) on ecosystem function, although often at a single scale, e.g., individual or community. Our ability to predict community and ecosystem response to multiple, co-occurring stressors is significantly limited because few studies consider multiple stressors, which is problematic for ecosystem management because stressors often interact such that their combined effect is greater (or less) than the simple sum of each stressor. Even fewer studies examine whether individual life history responses scale up to changes in ecosystem function, despite management targets aimed at the ecosystem level. My proposed research addresses this challenge by testing two approaches for predicting changes in ecosystem function; 1) scaling up from life history responses in key species to predict ecosystem function, and 2) predicting ecosystem function based on community traits such as species or functional diversity. We will conduct multi-scale experiments and develop models to critically evaluate these approaches using 5 important environmental stressors in Ontario lakes; increasing chloride (from road salt), decreasing calcium, nutrient loading, increasing temperature and the spread of non-native species. We focus on zooplankton because they can control algal populations (relevant for drinking water quality) and provide energy for higher trophic levels (relevant for fisheries). Zooplankton communities are ideal for multi-scale experiments because they have short generation times, can be grown as individuals under laboratory conditions as well as in diverse, multi-trophic communities under field conditions, and they exhibit a range of tolerances to environmental stressors. Our research will provide scientists and managers tools for predicting the impact of multiple stressors on community structure and ecosystem function, in lieu of the almost impossible task of experimentally evaluating ecosystem response to every possible stressor combination. This will help managers and policy-makers prioritize conservation of valuable ecosystem services. This research program will train 3 PhD, 3 MSc, 1 PDF and at least 15 BSc students in ecotoxicology, field studies, taxonomy, experimental design, statistical analyses, physiological modelling, communication, and collaboration. These are highly sought skills in environmental fields, but also transfer to other careers that require critical thinking, quantitative skills, communication, and strong leadership.

淡水资源对加拿大的经济和文化特性至关重要。安大略超过70%的饮用水来自地表沃茨，加拿大各地的休闲渔业为当地经济贡献了83亿美元。尽管如此，人类活动正在极大地改变淡水生境的物种组成，威胁到生态系统的功能和提供宝贵的服务。大量的研究着眼于个人环境压力的影响（例如，营养素，温度）对生态系统功能的影响，尽管通常是在单一尺度上，例如，个人或社区。我们预测社区和生态系统对多种共同发生的压力源的反应的能力是非常有限的，因为很少有研究考虑多种压力源，这对生态系统管理是有问题的，因为压力源经常相互作用，使得它们的综合影响大于（或小于）每个压力源的简单总和。更少的研究探讨个人的生活史反应是否扩大到生态系统功能的变化，尽管针对生态系统的管理目标。 我提出的研究通过测试两种预测生态系统功能变化的方法来应对这一挑战; 1）从关键物种的生活史反应中扩大规模以预测生态系统功能，2）基于物种或功能多样性等群落特征预测生态系统功能。我们将进行多尺度实验和开发模型，以严格评估这些方法使用5个重要的环境压力在安大略湖泊;增加氯化物（从道路盐），减少钙，营养负荷，增加温度和非本地物种的传播。我们专注于浮游动物，因为它们可以控制藻类种群（与饮用水质量相关），并为更高的营养级提供能量（与渔业相关）。浮游动物群落是多尺度实验的理想选择，因为它们具有较短的世代时间，可以在实验室条件下作为个体生长，也可以在野外条件下在多样化的多营养群落中生长，并且它们对环境压力具有一定的耐受性。 我们的研究将为科学家和管理人员提供预测多种压力对社区结构和生态系统功能的影响的工具，而不是实验评估生态系统对每种可能的压力组合的反应的几乎不可能的任务。这将有助于管理人员和政策制定者优先考虑保护有价值的生态系统服务。该研究计划将培养3名博士，3名硕士，1名PDF和至少15名理科学生，从事生态毒理学，实地研究，分类学，实验设计，统计分析，生理建模，交流和合作。这些都是环境领域非常受欢迎的技能，但也可以转移到其他需要批判性思维，定量技能，沟通和强大领导力的职业。