GLOBEC 2000: Spatial and Temporal Variability of Microplankton in the Gulf of Alaska

该项目的重点是定量描述的丰度，生物量和大小结构的微型浮游生物（浮游植物和微型浮游动物200微米）猎物领域的阿拉斯加湾GLOBEC计划的一部分。 中尺度研究的一个中心目标是确定物理强迫如何影响浮游动物幼鱼猎物的可用性和生产。 幼年鲑鱼猎物（桡足类，磷虾类，翼足类，端足类）直接或间接依赖于不同的microcropartonic猎物，包括微型浮游动物（鞭毛虫和纤毛虫），最近被认为是浮游动物的重要饮食组成部分。 低营养食物网的大小结构、分类组成和生长动态预计将对物理强迫高度敏感，并反过来对浮游动物的生长、繁殖力、群落组成和营养状态产生强烈影响。 还将测量特定群体的浮游植物生长和微型浮游动物的摄食率，以确定营养途径和对不断变化的物理状况的反应。 这项研究将提供关键的机制洞察力和阿拉斯加湾陆架生态系统的耦合生物物理模型的验证。

The focus of this project is to describe quantitatively the abundance, biomass and size-structure of the microplankton (phytoplankton and microzooplankton 200 um) prey fields as part of the Gulf of Alaska GLOBEC program. A central objective of the mesoscale studies is to determine how physical forcing affects the availability and production of zooplankton prey for juvenile pink salmon. Juvenile salmon prey (copepods, euphausiids, pteropods, amphipods) depend directly or indirectly on diverse mircroplanktonic prey, including microzooplankton (flagellates and ciliates) which have recently been recognized to be a significant dietary component of zooplankton. The size-structure, taxonomic composition and growth dynamics of the lower trophic food web are expected to be highly responsive to physical forcing and, in turn, exert strong influences on zooplankton growth, fecundity, community composition and nutritional state. Group-specific phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing rates will also be measured to identify trophic pathways and responses to changing physical regimes. This study will provide critical mechanistic insight and validation for coupled biological-physical models of the Gulf of Alaska shelf ecosystem.