Ecological and Biogeochemical Consequences of Bromoorganics in the Enteropneust, S. Kowalevskyi

大量多样的海洋生物积累了种类繁多的有毒卤代有机化合物。然而，这些化合物的生态作用和生物合成控制都不是很清楚，对于软体动物和海绵(孔虫纲)以外的生物尤其如此。该项目涉及对底栖肠道浮游动物Saccoglossus kowalevskyi的天气学研究，这将建立一些关键的环境和遗传因素，这些因素调节着这些生物中卤代有机物质的积累模式，并为有毒卤素有机物对海洋沉积物中微生物和生物地球化学过程的影响提供新的见解。Saccoglossus kowalevskyi非常适合于这项工作，因为：1)它是潮间带大型动物的常见组成部分；2)它的许多生物学方面(例如，摄食、消化、繁殖、排泄)都有很好的特征；3)它对潮间带新沉积的有机质有重大影响。此外，这项研究将有助于建立一个不同于目前公认的基于软体动物和海绵研究的次生产品积累模型。

A large and diverse number of marine organisms accumulate a remarkable diversity of toxic halogenated organic compounds. However, neither the ecological roles nor biosynthetic controls of these compounds are well understood and this is especially true for organisms other than molluscs and sponges (poriferan taxa). This project involves a synoptic study of the benthic enteropneust, Saccoglossus kowalevskyi, which will establish some of the key environmental and genetic factors which regulate patterns of haloorganic accumulation in these organisms, and provide new insights on the effects of toxic haloorganics on microorganisms and biogeochemical processes in marine sediments. Saccoglossus kowalevskyi is ideally suited for this work since: 1) it is a common component of the intertidal macrofauna; 2) many aspects of its biology (e.g., feeding, digestion, reproduction, excretion) are well characterized; 3) it has a significant impact on freshly- deposited organic matter in the intertidal zone. In addition, this research will help establish a model for secondary product accumulation that differs from currently accepted models based on studies of molluscs and sponges.