Collaborative Research: Climate Change and Predatory Invasion of the Antarctic Marine Environment

该奖项由2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助。全球气候变化正在通过气温上升和海洋酸化改变极地海洋生态系统。南极洲的海洋群落面临着另一个威胁：来自温带和副极地纬度的气候驱动的生物入侵。来自较温暖环境的食硬（破鳞）蟹类即将入侵浅水底栖生境，并可能对特有的陆架动物群及其独特的营养结构产生重大影响。这项研究将评估南极洲西部螃蟹种群的状况及其对底栖生物群落的破坏潜力。瑞典破冰船RVIB Oden提供了对别林斯高晋海和阿蒙森海进行取样的理想机会，因为她的破冰能力超过了美国的研究破冰船。 将通过以下方式评估持续入侵的程度和后果：（1）对水柱进行取样，寻找幼虫;（2）调查底栖生物的幼鱼和成鱼，以及群落结构的局部变化。将使用一个自动潜航器对海底动物进行成像，提供斜坡上以及可能在冰架上的螃蟹密度估计，并将提供对别林斯高晋海和阿蒙森海冰架下动物的罕见一瞥。在冰架下使用AUV具有高度的探索性和高风险性，但其结果具有潜在的变革性。 这项研究将促进来自美国的科学团队之间的合作，瑞典和英国。该项目还将提供本科生和研究生培训，包括少数民族学生的研究部分，促进妇女在科学事业中的进步，并为K-12教育编写课程材料。 最后，该项目将产生关于海洋入侵的数据，这是长期跟踪南极洲生态变化所迫切需要的。

AbstractThis award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Global climate change is altering polar marine ecosystems through rising temperatures and ocean acidification. Marine communities in Antarctica face an additional threat: climatically driven biological invasions from temperate and subpolar latitudes. Durophagous (skeleton-breaking) crabs from warmer environments are on the verge of invading shallow-benthic habitats, and could significantly impact the endemic shelf fauna and its unique trophic structure. This study will assess the status of crab populations in western Antarctica and their potential to disrupt benthic communities. The Swedish Icebreaker RVIB Oden provides the ideal opportunity to sample areas of the Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas, as her ice-capability exceeds that of U.S. research icebreakers. The extent and consequences of the ongoing invasion will be assessed by: (1) sampling the water column for larvae; and (2) surveying the benthos for juveniles and adults, and for localized changes in community structure. An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) will be used to image the bottom fauna, providing density estimates of crabs on the slope and, perhaps, on the shelf, and will provide a rare glimpse of the fauna underneath the ice shelves of the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas. Use of AUVs under ice shelves is highly exploratory and high risk, but the results are potentially transformative. The study will promote collaboration between scientific teams from the U.S., Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The project also will provide undergraduate and graduate training, include a research component for minority students, promote the advancement of women in scientific careers, and generate curricular materials for K-12 education. Finally the project will generate data on marine invasions, which are urgently needed for long-term tracking of ecological change in Antarctica.