Ecological comparisons of salt marshes and mudflats in contrasting tidal regimes

这笔拨款将支持我们对加拿大海事地区盐沼和泥滩生态的研究。这些生态系统是动态的和具有生物生产力的，在提供多种生态系统服务方面具有价值（如储存碳、过滤污染、为生物多样性创造培育栖息地，以及保护海岸免受风暴活动和海平面上升的影响）。盐沼的特点是坚韧、耐盐的草能生长在定期被潮汐覆盖的沉积物上。泥滩通常位于盐沼的向海一侧；特别是在芬迪湾，泥滩的范围可能很大，沿着海岸延伸几公里，退潮时宽度超过一公里。这些泥滩供养着极其丰富的无脊椎动物，每年夏天，它们都成为数百万迁徙的滨鸟必不可少的觅食地。我们的研究项目致力于了解盐沼和泥滩生态系统的结构和内部运作。作为一项长期研究策略，我们的方法是进行一系列精心策划的研究，每项研究都旨在解决一个特定的问题，从而启发我们的整体理解。有了这笔赠款支持，我们将进行具体的研究，重点是泥滩的群落生态学、盐沼的营养生态学以及两个邻近生态系统之间存在的生态联系。种群、群落和生态系统之间的连通性可以影响种群的持久性和物种的共存，并可能导致局部尺度动态无法预测的区域尺度动态。我们研究的一个普遍特征是，我们描述了生活在两个经历非常不同潮汐环境的地区的动植物物种的种群和群落动态。诺森伯兰海峡只有小潮汐，海水清澈，水温季节性变化强烈，而芬迪湾潮汐巨大，海水浑浊，水温全年变化小得多。比较这些地理位置相近的独特地点是识别生态机制和解释观察到的模式的有力研究策略。研究不同的潮汐环境也将提高我们对软沉积物海岸线如何受到海平面或潮汐振幅变化的影响的理解。由于建议的研究将在全年进行，我们亦会评估冬季扰动对生态格局和过程的程度和影响。冬季的影响可能是巨大的，但在北温带沿海地区的研究有限。

This grant will support our study of the ecology of salt marshes and mudflats in Maritime Canada. These ecosystems are dynamic and biologically-productive, valued for providing several ecosystem services (such as storing carbon, filtering pollution, creating nursery habitat for a diversity of organisms, and sheltering coasts from storm activity and sea level rise). Salt marshes are characterized by tough, salt-tolerant grasses able to grow on sediments regularly covered by tidal water. Mudflats are typically found on the seaward side of salt marshes; in the Bay of Fundy, in particular, the mudflats can be vast in extent, extending for several kilometres along the coast and being over a kilometre wide at low tide. These mudflats support an extraordinary abundance of invertebrates, and every summer they become essential feeding grounds for millions of migrating shorebirds. Our research program is dedicated to understanding the structure and inner-workings of salt marsh and mudflat ecosystems. As a long-term research strategy, our approach is to undertake a series of carefully-planned studies, with each study designed to address a specific question that will enlighten our overall understanding. With this grant support, we will undertake specific studies focused on the community ecology of mudflats, on the trophic ecology of salt marshes, and on the ecological connections that exist between the two neighbouring ecosystems. Connectivity among populations, communities and ecosystems can affect population persistence and species coexistence, and may lead to dynamics at regional scales that are not predicted by dynamics at local scales. A general feature of our studies is that we characterize the population and community dynamics of animal and plant species living in two regions that experience very different tidal environments. The Northumberland Strait encounters only small tides, with clear water and strong seasonal changes in water temperature, while the Bay of Fundy is subject to huge tides, with turbid water and much smaller variation in water temperature year-round. The comparison of such distinctive sites in geographically close locations is a powerful research strategy for identifying ecological mechanisms and interpreting observed patterns. Studying the different tidal environments will also improve our understanding of how soft-sediment shorelines may be affected by changes in sea level or tidal amplitudes. Since the proposed studies will be conducted throughout the year, we will also assess the extent and effect of winter disturbance on ecological patterns and processes. Winter effects can be substantial, but have received limited study along coastlines at north temperate latitudes.