Habitat connectivity: terrestrial and marine hotspots for seabirds, chemical biotransport, and the role of seabirds in coastal ecosystems

栖息地连通性：海鸟的陆地和海洋热点、化学生物迁移以及海鸟在沿海生态系统中的作用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2017-03842
• 负责人: Mallory, Mark
• 金额: $ 2.91万
• 依托单位: Acadia University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=745800
• 关键词: Habitat; connectivity; terrestrial; marine; hotspots

In Arctic and Atlantic Canada, coastal regions perform important ecological functions and provide critical wildlife habitat, but they are subject to increasing and novel anthropogenic stressors such as development, contamination, marine traffic, and climate change. A key question for scientists, managers and politicians is “how can we predict the effects of anthropogenic stressors on coastal wildlife populations and their habitats in these areas when so few data are available on their ecology and habitat needs?” My research program will build on my lab's experience and success in remote field work to test the overall hypothesis that key coastal and marine habitats for migratory birds are predictable, and are connected through bird behaviour and ecology, which ultimately leads to chemical connectivity across different spatial scales. Specifically, during the next 5 years, my lab will: (1) identify spatio-temporal variability of important coastal and marine wildlife habitats in Arctic and Atlantic Canada through the use of colony-based ecological research, telemetry devices and paleoenvironmental approaches; and (2) examine migratory birds as biovectors of contaminants to terrestrial environments from marine foraging areas through ecosystem-wide chemical analyses. To achieve these objectives, we will undertake telemetry studies on 3 species that are virtually unstudied in these regions (terns, kittiwakes, guillemots) to identify species-, sex- and colony-specific seasonal and annual habitat use. Additionally, we will merge these data with our previously gathered telemetry information on other Arctic marine birds to identify multi-species hotspots, and assess environmental factors that might influence the spatio-temporal occurrence of these key locations. We will also examine the biotransport of nutrients and contaminants from ocean to land, and specifically we will test for spatial, species-specific and temporal variation in types and concentrations of contamination in environmental archives at bird colonies (collaborating with international leaders in paleoenvironmental and contaminant research). My research program will result in a significant advancement in locating and defining key habitats for wildlife in Arctic and Atlantic Canada and how those habitats have changed through time. This unique information is vital for environmental assessment, marine protected area and land use planning projects, and for predictive modeling of future environmental conditions in key coastal habitats. As well, the environmental data on contaminants will be critical for assessing stores of contaminants at various locations, determining how and when birds moved these contaminants at different colonies, and modelling releases of those pollutants with changing climate and concomitant processes of melt and erosion.

在加拿大的北极和大西洋地区，沿海地区发挥着重要的生态功能，并提供了重要的野生动物栖息地，但它们受到越来越多的新人为压力的影响，如开发、污染、海洋交通和气候变化。科学家、管理人员和政治家面临的一个关键问题是：“在有关沿海野生动物生态和栖息地需求的数据如此之少的情况下，我们如何预测人为压力源对这些地区沿海野生动物种群及其栖息地的影响？”我的研究计划将以我的实验室在远程野外工作中的经验和成功为基础，检验候鸟的主要沿海和海洋栖息地是可预测的，并通过鸟类行为和生态联系在一起，最终导致不同空间尺度上的化学连通性。具体而言，在未来5年，我的实验室将：(1)通过使用基于群落的生态研究、遥测设备和古环境方法，确定加拿大北极和大西洋地区重要沿海和海洋野生动物栖息地的时空变化；(2)通过生态系统范围的化学分析，研究候鸟作为海洋觅食区污染物对陆地环境的生物载体。为了实现这些目标，我们将对这些地区几乎没有研究过的3种物种（燕鸥、三趾鸥、海鸠）进行遥测研究，以确定物种、性别和种群的季节性和年度栖息地使用情况。此外，我们将这些数据与我们之前收集的其他北极海洋鸟类的遥测信息相结合，以确定多物种热点，并评估可能影响这些关键地点时空发生的环境因素。我们还将研究营养物质和污染物从海洋到陆地的生物运输，特别是我们将测试鸟类栖息地环境档案中污染类型和浓度的空间、物种特异性和时间变化（与国际领先的古环境和污染物研究合作）。我的研究项目将在定位和定义加拿大北极和大西洋野生动物的主要栖息地以及这些栖息地如何随着时间的推移而变化方面取得重大进展。这种独特的信息对于环境评估、海洋保护区和土地利用规划项目以及主要沿海栖息地未来环境条件的预测建模至关重要。此外，污染物的环境数据对于评估不同地点的污染物储存，确定鸟类如何以及何时在不同的栖息地移动这些污染物，以及模拟这些污染物随气候变化和伴随的融化和侵蚀过程的释放至关重要。