RAPID: Census activities and a workshop on baseline coastal data for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

深水地平线漏油事件对墨西哥湾沿岸地区的生态影响将持续数十年。科学家需要量化这些影响，以便最好地理解和应对这场环境灾难。生态学家面临着三个关键挑战：尽快对沿海生境的重要物种进行充分采样，协调科学工作以监测广泛的生境和物种，以及创建一个大型数据库以有效利用收集的科学数据。这是一个快速项目，将扩大正在进行的对沿海沙丘栖息地植被的长期研究，以便在未来几年监测石油泄漏的影响。一项对佛罗里达州圣乔治岛11年植被的原始研究提供了关于沿海植物群落的关键基线数据。这项研究的方法将在佛罗里达州西海岸的其他四个地点重复使用，不同地点的石油泄漏暴露程度不同。作为这一快速项目的一部分，将举办一次研讨会，将调查沿海地区漏油影响的生态学家聚集在一起，目标是规划科学界应如何应对漏油。该讲习班将特别讨论如何协调众多科学家和有关机构的反应，以获得尽可能好的科学数据，以及如何创建一个单一的数据库，供科学家、相关机构和公众使用。该研讨会将通过制定研究和数据收集指南，对与深水地平线漏油相关的沿海研究产生长期影响。关于沿海沙丘的研究将为一些研究生和本科生提供实践经验，以及土壤分析、数据处理和一些数据分析方面的培训。实地考察工作还将涉及佛罗里达原生植物协会的当地分会，以帮助识别其所在地区的植物，帮助保护和普查地点，并为每个地点创建当地植物指南。

The ecological effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico will persist for decades. Scientists need to quantify these effects in ways that will best allow for understanding and responding to this environmental catastrophe. There are three key challenges for ecologists: adequate sampling of the important species across coastal habitats as soon as possible, coordinating the scientific effort to monitor a broad range of habitats and species, and creating a large database to effectively use the collected scientific data. This is a RAPID project that will expand an ongoing long-term study of vegetation on coastal dunes habitats, in order to monitor the effects of the oil spill in future years. An original 11-year study of the vegetation on St. George Island, FL, provides critical baseline data on coastal plant communities. The methods from this study will be replicated at four other sites along the west coast of Florida, across a gradient of exposure to the oil spill. As part of this RAPID project, a workshop will be conducted to bring together ecologists investigating oil spill effects in coastal areas, with the goal of planning how the scientific community should respond to the oil spill. In particular, this workshop will address how to coordinate the responses of the many scientists and agencies involved to obtain the best scientific data possible, as well as the creation of a single database for the use of scientists, associated agencies, and the public. This workshop will have long-lasting effects for the coastal research associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, by creating guidelines for research and data collection. The research on coastal dunes will provide hands-on field experience for a number of graduate and undergraduate students, as well as training in soil analyses, data processing, and some data analysis. The fieldwork will also involve local chapters of the Florida Native Plant Society to help with the identification of plants in their area, help protect and census sites, and create local plant guides for each site.