Collaborative Research: Quantitative Importance and Trophic Role of Noctiluca Blooms in the Arabian Sea

直到90年代末，大型异养甲藻一直是阿拉伯海北部浮游植物种群的次要组成部分，仅在西南季风(SWM，夏季风)期间和易受上升流和深坡水入侵的沿海地区零星地以水华形式出现。从那时起，水华在频率、强度和分布上都有所增加，但大多数水华是在东北季风(NEM，冬季季风)期间观察到的。在阿曼湾和阿拉伯海西部和中部，这些生物的大规模水华现在变得更加普遍和普遍，取代了在多学科阿拉伯海全球海洋通量联合研究期间经常看到的以硅藻为主的NEM水华。特别令人关切的是，水华的出现及其与营养丰富和氧气不饱和的水域的联系可能表明阿拉伯海生态系统的富营养化。这些关切与最近的迹象相一致，这些迹象表明，阿拉伯海的生产力正在提高，由于从真光区出口的有机物增加，阿拉伯海的永久最低含氧区正在加强。还有人担心，米氏新藻取代硅藻可能会对阿拉伯海的食物链和碳循环产生很大影响。该项目将开展一项有针对性的实地方案，旨在了解百合花的出现和命运。该项目将特别调查1)促进阿拉伯海大范围水华的环境条件，2)水华的营养作用，3)这些水华对阿拉伯海的碳循环和生物地球化学过程的影响。这项实地研究是在与印度国家海洋研究所和空间应用中心的同事协商后设计的，他们提供了在印度R/V Sagar Kanya号考察船上的航行时间和NIO的实验室设施，这一项目免费。与阿曼苏丹卡布斯大学的现有合作还将允许访问正在进行的阿拉伯海北部野外项目的数据。该项目将为毕格罗实验室的两名美国本科生和来自大学的一名研究生提供培训。德克萨斯州(UT)将全职参与。该项目将为来自美国的学生提供一个与印度学生一起工作的机会。通过这一真正的国际合作努力，该项目将鼓励对海洋生态系统对气候变化的反应的科学好奇心，并促进跨文化的思想交流。调查人员将通过开发一个网站来利用教育和外联工作，该网站将与毕格罗实验室现有的藻华和大学建立联系。缅因州COSEE-OESS网站。该网站将被翻译成印度的官方语言印地语和阿曼的阿拉伯语。这一基于网络的资源将为非专业受众量身定做，重点放在视觉上。在德克萨斯大学海洋科学研究所。关于这项研究的广播片段将为科学与海洋撰写，这是为国家公共广播电台制作的广播节目，并在全国大多数公共广播电台(http://scienceandthesea.org/))播放

Until the late 90's Noctiluca miliaris, a large heterotrophic dinoflagellate was a minor component of phytoplankton populations in the northern Arabian Sea, appearing in bloom form only sporadically during the Southwest Monsoon (SWM, summer monsoon) and in coastal regions predisposed to upwelling and deep slope water intrusions. Since then N. miliaris blooms have increased in frequency, intensity and distribution, but with the majority of blooms being observed during the Northeast monsoon (NEM, winter monsoon). Large blooms of these organisms have now become more pervasive and widespread throughout the Gulf of Oman and in the western and central Arabian Sea replacing diatom-dominating blooms of the NEM that were seen frequently during the multi-disciplinary Arabian Sea, Joint Global Ocean Flux Studies (JGOFS). There is particular concern that the emergence of N. miliaris blooms and their association with waters that are nutrient-rich and undersaturated with respect to oxygen may be indicative of eutrophication of the Arabian Sea ecosystem. Such concerns are consistent with recent indications that the Arabian Sea is becoming more productive and that its permanent oxygen minimum zone is intensifying due to increased organic matter export from the euphotic zone. There is also concern that the replacement of diatoms by N. miliaris is potentially having a large impact on the food web and carbon cycling in the Arabian Sea. This project will carry out a targeted field program aimed at understanding the emergence and fate of N. miliaris blooms. In particular the project will investigate 1) the environmental conditions facilitating large N. miliaris blooms in the Arabian Sea and 2) the trophic role of N. miliaris blooms and 3) implications of these blooms for carbon cycling and biogeochemical processes in the Arabian Sea. This field study has been devised in consultation with colleagues at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) & the Space Applications Centre in India who have offered ship time on board the India's research vessel R/V Sagar Kanya and laboratory facilities at NIO at no cost to this project. An existing collaboration with the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Oman will also allow access to data from an ongoing field program in the northern Arabian Sea.This project will provide training to two US undergraduate students at Bigelow Laboratory and one graduate student from Univ. Texas (UT) will be involved full time. This project will provide an opportunity for students from the US to work alongside students from India. Through this truly international collaborative effort the project will encourage scientific curiosity about the response of marine ecosystems to climate change as well as foster a cross-cultural exchange of ideas. The investigators will leverage education and outreach efforts through development of a website which will be linked to Bigelow Laboratory's existing algal blooms and the Univ. Maine COSEE-OESS website. This website will be translated into Hindi, the official language of India and into Arabic, the language of Oman. This web-based resource will be tailored for non-specialist audiences with strong emphasis on visuals. At the UT Marine Science Institute. a radio segment on this research will be written for Science and the Sea, a radio program produced for National Public Radio, and played on most public radio stations nationwide (http://scienceandthesea.org/)