Initial Investigations of Recently Discovered Transparent Expolymer Particles (TEP) in the Ocean

最近在海水中发现了一类新的大而丰富的颗粒，它们以透明的薄膜、薄片和弦状存在。这些透明的外聚合物颗粒（TEP）似乎是由浮游植物和细菌排泄的溶解多糖形成的。微生物渗出物的存在是作为大的、离散的颗粒，而不是作为溶解的分子，作为其他颗粒的涂层，对碳循环、微生物过程、食物网结构和海洋有机物的转化具有深远的影响，但由于它们最近的发现，这些颗粒的意义在很大程度上是未知的。本研究将进行初步研究，以阐明这些不可见粒子对若干海洋学过程的潜在意义。这些研究将1)确定TEP是如何形成的以及哪些因素对TEP的形成影响最大，2)确定哪些分类群对TEP的形成贡献最大，3)确定TEP是作为食物来源还是栖息在浮游动物的食物中，4)调查TEP被细菌降解的情况，5)检查自然界中TEP的季节性。

9400698 ALLDREDGE A new class of large, abundant particles has recently been discovered which exist as transparent films, sheets and strings in seawater. These transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) appear to be formed from dissolved polysaccharides excreted by phytoplankton and bacteria. The existence of microbial exudates acting as large, discrete particles rather than as dissolved molecules as a coatings on other particles has far reaching implications for carbon cycling, microbial processes, food web structure, and transformations of organic matter in the ocean, but because of their recent discovery, the significance of these particles is largely unknown. This research will conduct preliminary studies to elucidate the potential significance of these invisible particles to several oceanographic processes. These studies will 1) determine how TEP is formed and what factors most influence formation, 2) determine which taxa are the most significant contributors to TEP formation, 3) establish whether TEP serves as a food source or inhabits feeding of zooplankton, 4) investigate degradation of TEP by bacteria, and 5) examine seasonality of TEP in nature.