OCE-RIG: Emission of greenhouse gases by coastal marine invertebrates in response to nitrogen loading and ocean warming

在这个项目中，首席研究员将研究沿海无脊椎动物排放的温室气体(GHGs)与氮素有效性和温度的关系。沿海生态系统可能是温室气体的重要来源，包括一氧化二氮(N2O)和甲烷(CH4)，它们每分子二氧化碳(CO2)的全球变暖潜力分别是300倍和25倍。尤其是海洋无脊椎动物，可以通过沉积物的生物改变直接或间接地在沿海生态系统中产生温室气体，这扩大了微生物在其中茁壮成长的缺氧界面。人为的氮(N)负荷和沿海海洋变暖都可能显著增加温室气体的产生。为了验证在数量上占优势的沿海无脊椎动物，包括管状端足类(Ampelisca Abdita)和双壳类(Mytilus edulis，Mercenaria ureenaria，Geukensia demissa)可以排放大量二氧化碳、N2O、CH4的假设，将进行操纵性实验。将在标准化条件下分析每个物种和亚种群的潜在排放量(沿着纳拉甘西特湾现有的氮梯度)。为了测试沿海无脊椎动物的排放如何随着人为肥力和海洋变暖的反应而变化，接下来将在中游实验中操纵氮和温度。将对不同处理的通量和溶解的温室气体浓度进行比较。还将对温室气体排放的两个关键潜在介体--氨氧化微生物和甲烷氧化微生物--的丰度进行表征。这些检查将揭示海洋变暖和施肥的功能后果，包括沿海生物加强全球气候反馈的潜力。更广泛的影响涉及扩大代表不足的群体在STEM中的参与。首席研究员致力于在我们多样化社会的所有成员中推动科学进步。一名研究生将从一个全国性的多元化推广计划中招募。通过夏季本科生研究奖学金，本科生研究人员将得到指导，他们的贡献将在新的研讨会上亮相，这些研讨会将为高中学生和教师以及全国奇卡诺人和美国原住民科学促进会开发。该项目由美国国家科学基金会海洋科学研究启动补助金(OCE-RIG)计划支持，旨在支持早期职业科学家的创新研究，并增加美国海洋科学劳动力和研究社区的多样性。在OCE-RIG的支持下，该项目将使有前途的早期职业研究人员能够从事与海洋科学有关的独立研究事业，并扩大未被充分代表的群体在海洋科学领域的参与。

In this project, the principal investigator will study greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions from coastal invertebrates in relation to nitrogen availability and temperature.Coastal ecosystems may be significant sources of greenhouse gases, including nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) that have 300 and 25 times the global warming potential per molecule of carbon dioxide (CO2). Marine invertebrates, in particular, may produce GHGs in coastal ecosystems either directly or indirectly, through biogenic alteration of sediments, which expands the oxicanoxic interfaces in which microbes thrive. Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) loading and warming of coastal oceans may both enhance GHG production significantly. To test the hypothesis that numerically dominant coastal invertebrates, including a tube-building amphipod (Ampelisca abdita) and bivalves (Mytilus edulis, Mercenaria mercenaria, Geukensia demissa), can emit significant quantities of CO2, N2O , CH4, manipulative experiments will be performed. Potential emissions from each species, and subpopulations (along an existing nitrogen gradient in Narragansett Bay, RI), will be assayed under standardized conditions. To test how emissions from coastal invertebrates vary in response to anthropogenic fertilization and warming of the ocean, nitrogen and temperature will then be manipulated in mesocosm experiments. Fluxes and dissolved GHG concentrations will be compared across treatments. The abundance of two key potential mediators of GHG fluxes, ammonia-oxidizing and methane-oxidizing microbes, will also be characterized. These examinations will reveal functional consequences of ocean warming and fertilization, including the potential of coastal organisms to enhance global climatic feedbacks.The broader impacts involve broadening participation of under-represented groups in STEM. The principal investigator is committed to advancing science among all members of our diverse society. A graduate student will be recruited from a national diversity outreach program. Undergraduate researchers, via Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships, will be mentored, and their contributions will be featured in new workshops that will be developed for high school students and teachers, and the National Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. This project is supported under the NSF Ocean Sciences Research Initiation Grant (OCE-RIG) program, with goals to support novel research by early career scientists and increase the diversity of the U.S. ocean sciences workforce and research community. With OCE-RIG support, this project will enable a promising early career researcher to establish themselves in an independent research career related to ocean sciences and broaden participation of under-represented groups in the ocean sciences.