Internal Waves in the Rocky Subtidal Zone: Effects of Pulsed Food and Larval Supply on Suspension Feeding Communities

生物海洋学的中心目标之一是确定海洋生态系统中物理强迫的性质和后果。虽然在远洋和软底底生物生态系统方面取得了重大进展，但对岩石潮下生态系统中物理和生物过程的耦合知之甚少。此前由美国国家科学基金会资助的研究表明，在缅因州海湾中部，富含浮游植物的温暖海水被内波迅速垂直移动，这是岩石潮下生态系统最引人注目的方面之一。本研究将进行一套综合的测量和实地实验，以验证缅因州湾中部岩石峭壁和尖塔上悬浮食饵的垂直分布模式和二次生产力是由内波力学及其对食物和幼虫供应的影响决定的这一一般工作假设。//

One of the central goals of biological oceanography is to determine the nature and consequences of physical forcing in marine ecosystems. While major advances have been made in pelagic and soft-bottom benthic ecosystems, little is known about the coupling of physical and biological processes in rocky subtidal ecosystems. Previous NSF sponsored research has shown that the rapid, vertical displacement of warm phytoplankton-rich water by internal waves is one of the most striking aspects of rocky subtidal ecosystems in the central Gulf of Maine. This research will conduct an integrated set of measurements and field experiments proposed to test the general working hypothesis that patterns of vertical distribution and secondary productivity of suspension feeders on rocky ledges and pinnacles in the central Gulf of Maine are determined by the mechanics of internal waves and their effects on food and larval supply.//