Microbial Diversity and Functionality in Cold Water Coral Reef Ecosystems (MiCROSYSTEMS) (EuroDIVERSITY 83)

上世纪90年代末，在爱尔兰西部海域和摩洛哥海域发现了在碳酸盐土丘上生长繁茂的冷水珊瑚礁。自前寒武纪以来，土堆建造似乎是一种基本的但仍然是神秘的生命策略。各种各样的论点表明，微生物在珊瑚礁的发育和生物多样性中起着重要作用。土丘的起源可能是来自外部（海洋）和内部（地流体）的通量汇合。2004年拍摄的长岩心显示，摩洛哥附近的“潘·杜伊克”土丘可能被认为是一个巨大的生物地球化学反应器，在那里，微生物的活动被强烈的硫化氢排放所证明。MiCROSYSTEMS提议通过以下行动和实验将Pen Duick土丘变成一个自然实验室：-通过地球物理和视频成像进行生物群落勘探和生物多样性表征，有针对性的微生物分析，评估现在和过去的海洋条件，-微生物多样性普查和评估微生物-后生动物的功能联系，通过后生动物物种分析，生物地球化学和分子指纹，实验室培养，动物-微生物相互作用分析，微生物介导的碳酸盐沉淀过程的评估，-通过反应器技术的发展来模拟和评估微生态位的功能和环境变化的影响，评估生物多样性变化的影响。微系统项目与欧洲深水珊瑚生态系统养护项目以及国际海洋发展计划第307次考察项目密切吻合。该项目将促进欧洲-马格里布在摩洛哥边界的合作，并在海洋生物普查方案范围内促进国际海洋生物委员会的倡议。

Cold-water coral reefs thriving on carbonate mounds have been discovered in the late 90¿s off western Ireland and recently off Morocco. Mound building seems to be a fundamental but still enigmatic strategy of Life, developed since Precambrian times onwards. Various arguments suggest that microorganisms are playing a major role in reef development and biodiversity. Mounds may find their origin at the confluence of fluxes from external (oceanic) and internal origin (geofluids). Long cores taken in 2004 showed that the `Pen Duick¿ mounds off Morocco, in which microbial action was demonstrated by an strong emission of hydrogen sulfide, may be considered as giant biogeochemical reactors. MiCROSYSTEMS proposes to turn the Pen Duick mounds into a natural laboratory through the following actions and experiments:- Biotope exploration and characterization of biodiversity through geophysical and video imaging, targeted microbiological profiling, evaluation of present and past oceanic conditions,- Microbial diversity census and evaluation of the functional link microbes-metazoans through metazoan species analysis, biogeochemical and molecular fingerprinting, laboratory culturing, fauna-microbe interactions analysis, evaluation of microbially mediated processes of carbonate precipitation,- Assessment of the impact of biodiversity changes through the development of a reactor technology to simulate and assess the functionality of the micro-ecological niches and the impact of environmental changes.The MiCROSYSTEMS project closely dovetails with European projects on deep-water coral ecosystem conservation and with IODP Expedition 307. The project will foster a Europe-Maghreb cooperation on the Moroccan margin and contribute to the ICoMM initiative within the Census of Marine Life Programme.