CAREER: Omnivory and the Fate of Ingested Food in Zooplankton: Implications for Material Fluxes in the Oceans

小行星9521907 海洋学的一个关键问题是了解影响从表层沃茨到深海的碳和氮通量变化的因素。 人们已经认识到，浮游生物在碳和氮向下流动中发挥重要作用。浮游动物通过摄食和随后排泄浮游植物和原生动物生物量，是海洋输出生产的重要媒介。 虽然快速下沉的浮游动物贴花颗粒已被确定为负责向下通量的有机的主要机制之一，我们在这方面的知识仍然非常零碎。 这项研究的中心是浮游动物对浮游植物和原生动物生物量的转化及其随后以粪粒形式的输出，以及浮游动物垂直迁移和浮游植物聚集体在海洋中碳和氮向下通量中的作用。 ***

9521907 Dam A key problem in oceanographic is understanding the factors that effect changes in fluxes of carbon and nitrogen from surface waters to the deep ocean. It has been recognized that planktonic organisms play an important role in the downward flux of carbon and nitrogen Zooplankton, through their ingestion and subsequent egestion of phytoplankton and protozoa biomass, are important agents of export production in the ocean. Although rapidly sinking zooplankton decal pellets have been identified as one of the main mechanisms responsible for downward fluxes of organic, our knowledge in this area remains extremely fragmentary. This research centers on the transformation by zooplankton of phytoplankton and protozoa biomass and its subsequent export in the form of fecal pellets, plus the role of zooplankton vertical migration and phytoplankton aggregates in downward fluxes of carbon and nitrogen in the ocean. ***