IAI Workshop: Application of Remote Sensing in Microbial Ecology

霍乱弧菌与浮游生物的联系已经在孟加拉国和拉丁美洲等地理区域得到证实，但是浮游生物大量繁殖与霍乱爆发之间的联系还不太清楚。这项提议将召集一组调查人员来比较霍乱爆发数据和浮游植物大量繁殖的卫星图像。卫星图像将与随后浮游动物大量繁殖的地面测量相结合，因为浮游植物大量繁殖几乎总是先于浮游动物大量繁殖，正如在孟加拉国观察到的那样。浮游生物是全球海洋食物链的一部分，其生产力取决于温度和环境中存在的其他营养物质。已经证明，作为海洋和河口水生环境的原生成员的特定细菌种类与以浮游植物为食的浮游动物有着独特的联系。通过遥感技术测量水中的叶绿素含量，可以评估浮游植物的种群密度，从而估计与它们有关的细菌种类的浓度。来自北美和南美的调查人员将访问几个国家进行讨论并进行初步调查。所有合作研究人员将在马里兰州会面，为拟定提交给美洲全球变化研究所（IAI）的完整第二阶段提案做最后准备。二期计划将包括2-3年的研究，在此期间，将基于描述性/定量模型开发逆模型，从总色素浓度数据监测微生物生态系统。这些数据将用作预测水生环境中出现特定物种（例如霍乱弧菌）的工具。霍乱弧菌与浮游生物的联系已在孟加拉国和拉丁美洲等地理区域得到证实，但浮游生物大量繁殖与霍乱爆发之间的联系尚不清楚。这项提议将召集一组调查人员来比较霍乱爆发数据和浮游植物大量繁殖的卫星图像。卫星图像将与随后浮游动物大量繁殖的地面测量相结合，因为浮游植物大量繁殖几乎总是先于浮游动物大量繁殖，正如在孟加拉国观察到的那样。项目负责人将与南美国家的调查人员会面，以获取南美沿海地区的流行病学数据，以寻找霍乱弧菌流行或数量增加的证据。所有合作研究人员将在马里兰州会面，为制定美洲全球变化研究所（IAI）启动资助第二阶段提案做最后准备。这组研究人员组成了微生物学家、生态学家和气候学家之间的强大合作，这种合作将使人们更好地了解生物多样性和气候变化对霍乱流行病学的影响。通过关注霍乱流行，这一研究人员合作正在解决影响世界许多地区，特别是南美洲的公共卫生问题。这项提案的研究人员来自巴西、智利、厄瓜多尔、墨西哥、秘鲁和美国。这些国家是IAI的成员，IAI是一项促进美洲科学机构进行全球变化研究的倡议。美国国家科学基金会是美国政府指定的机构，负责履行美国在IAI中的职责。* * *

9530040 Colwell The association of Vibrio cholerae with plankton has been demonstrated for geographical regions such as Bangladesh and Latin America, but the link between plankton blooms and cholera outbreaks is less clear. This proposal will bring together a team of investigators to compare cholera outbreak data and satellite imagery of phytoplankton blooms. The satellite imagery will be coupled with ground measurements of subsequent zooplankton blooms since phytoplankton blooms almost always precede zooplankton bloom, as observed in Bangladesh. Productivity of plankton, a part of the global oceanic food chain, is dependent on temperature and other nutrients present in the environment. It has been demonstrated that particular bacterial species which are autochthonous members of marine and estuarine aquatic environments are uniquely associated with zooplankton that feed on phytoplankton. By measuring the chlorophyll content of water through remote sensing techniques, it is possible to assess the phytoplankton population density and thereby estimate the concentration of bacterial species with which they are associated. Investigators from North and South America will visit several countries for discussions and carry out preliminary investigations. All collaborating investigators will meet in Maryland to make the final preparations for developing a full Phase II proposal to be submitted to the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI). The Phase II proposal will include a 2-3 year study during which an inverse model will be developed based on the descriptive/quantitative model to monitor microbial ecosystem from total pigment concentration data. The data will be used as a tool to predict the emergence of a particular species, e.g. Vibrio cholerae, in the aquatic environment. %%% The association of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae with plankton has been demonstrated for geographical regions such as Bangladesh and Latin America, but the link between plankton blooms and cholera outbreaks is less clear. This proposal will bring together a team of investigators to compare cholera outbreak data and satellite imagery of phytoplankton blooms. The satellite imagery will be coupled with ground measurements of subsequent zooplankton blooms since phytoplankton blooms almost always precede zooplankton blooms, as observed in Bangladesh. The PIs will meet with investigators in South American countries to obtain epidemiological data for areas along the coasts of South America for evidence of either epidemics or elevated Vibrio cholerae counts. All collaborating investigators will meet in Maryland to make the final preparation to develop an Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) Start- Up Grant Phase II proposal. The group of researchers makes up a strong collaboration among microbiologists, ecologists and climatologists, and this collaboration will bring a better understanding of biodiversity and the impact of climate change on cholera epidemiology. By focusing on cholera epidemics, this collaboration of researchers is addressing a public health problem affecting many parts of the world, in particular South America. The researchers of this proposal are from Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and the United States. These countries are members of the IAI, an initiative to stimulate global change research among the scientific institutions of the Americas. The National Science Foundation is the designated U.S. Government agency to carry out the U.S. responsibilities within the IAI. ***