PostDoctoral Research Fellowship

世界海底的生物群是由季节性初级生产的爆发所推动的。 对于食物有限的沉积物群落持续存在，后生动物的消费和竞争之间必须存在一个平衡的细菌，平衡可能会随着季节的变化。极地海洋生态系统是研究这种复杂相互作用的理想场所，因为异养和自养群落之间存在明显的季节性变化，温度可能限制微生物对有机物的处理。这项研究将检验以下假设：1）异养细菌与大型底栖动物竞争食物; 2）随着浮游植物数量的减少，大型底栖动物越来越多地消耗微生物生物量来维持其数量; 3）在没有季节性光合作用输入的情况下，大型底栖动物的生物多样性将减少，除非提供微生物来源的营养。将在南极洲的麦默多站进行观测和实证研究，检验这些假设，因为那里有一个高丰度的大型底栖动物群落，适应这种生产力的盛衰周期。研究者将指导来自主要为少数民族服务的机构的本科生，在无脊椎动物分类学和生物地球化学领域。公众和青年科学家将通过在当地K-12场地举办讲座和推出互动网站参与。研究结果将使科学家和管理人员更好地了解气候变化对极地生态系统的影响以及全球生物多样性生产力模式变化的机制。

The biota of the world's seafloor is fueled by bursts of seasonal primary production. For food-limited sediment communities to persist, a balance must exist between metazoan consumption of and competition with bacteria, a balance which likely changes through the seasons. Polar marine ecosystems are ideal places to study such complex interactions due to stark seasonal shifts between heterotrophic and autotrophic communities, and temperatures that may limit microbial processing of organic matter. The research will test the following hypotheses: 1) heterotrophic bacteria compete with macrofauna for food; 2) as phytoplankton populations decline macrofauna increasingly consume microbial biomass to sustain their populations; and 3) in the absence of seasonal photosynthetic inputs, macrofaunal biodiversity will decrease unless supplied with microbially derived nutrition. Observational and empirical studies will test these hypotheses at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, where a high-abundance macro-infaunal community is adapted to this boom-and-bust cycle of productivity. The investigator will mentor undergraduates from a predominantly minority-serving institution, in the fields of invertebrate taxonomy and biogeochemistry. The general public and young scientists will be engaged through lectures at local K-12 venues and launch of an interactive website. The results will better inform scientists and managers about the effects of climate change on polar ecosystems and the mechanisms of changing productivity patterns on global biodiversity.