OCE-PRF: Resource-risk trade-offs and habitat use by an important forage species, Neomysis americana: the role of turbidity

在这个项目中，研究人员将评估美洲新糠虾的丰度和分布驱动因素，美洲新糠虾是缅因州海湾食物网中的一个非常重要的物种。糠虾在海洋食物网中扮演重要角色，是许多鱼类的猎物。此外，它们的功能是通过垂直和水平迁移连接生境之间的能量和营养流动。美洲新糠虾是缅因州海湾最主要的糠虾;然而，丰度和分布的驱动因素尚不清楚。有一致的观察高丰度的N。在高浊度地区的美洲。这种相关性可能是由于丰富的桡足类资源和（或）从视觉捕食者，特别是alewives（Alosa pseudoharengus）的避难所。本研究结合野外调查、围隔实验和行为实验，揭示浊度作为N.资源和风险背景下的美国。描述美洲新糠虾的丰度和行为的数据将填补缅因州海湾沿海生态系统动态知识的一个关键空白，并将促进与生态系统的比较，其中糠虾，alewife相互作用进行了很好的研究。鸟类作为栖息地选择的驱动力已经被假设，但从未明确测试。在行为实验中，研究人员将确定美洲新糠虾是否在风险和资源梯度的背景下检测和响应浊度。由于沿海径流和气候变化造成当地浊度增加和季节性变化，关于浊度对沿海生态系统影响的数据及时提供，该项目更广泛的影响包括通过佩诺布斯科特湾男孩女孩俱乐部的活动扩大美洲土著青年的参与;从毕格罗海洋科学实验室招募和培训一名本科生;为女孩沿海研究方案编制课程;与Downeast倡议合作，该倡议是一个由渔民、政府代表和社区成员组成的组织。该项目得到了NSF海洋科学博士后研究奖学金（OCE PRF）计划的支持，其目标是支持早期职业科学家的新研究，并增加美国海洋科学劳动力和研究社区的多样性。在海洋环境组织-太平洋研究基金的支持下，该项目将使有前途的早期职业研究人员能够在与海洋科学有关的独立研究生涯中立足，并扩大代表性不足的群体对海洋科学的参与。

In this project, the investigator will assess the abundance and distribution drivers of Neomysis americana which is a critically important species in the Gulf of Maine food web. Mysid shrimp play a critical role in marine food webs by serving as prey for many fish species. Furthermore, they function to link the flow of energy and nutrients between habitats through vertical and horizontal migrations. Neomysis americana is the most dominant mysid in the Gulf of Maine; however, drivers of abundance and distribution are unknown. There are consistent observations of high abundances of N. americana in areas of high turbidity. This correlation could be due to an abundance of copepod resources and (or) a refuge from visual predators, specifically alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus). This research project combines field surveys, mesocosm experiments and behavioral experiments to shed light on proximate and ultimate consequences of turbidity as a habitat variable for N. americana under contexts of resources and risk. Data describing the abundance and behavior of Neomysis americana will fill a critical gap in the knowledge of coastal ecosystem dynamics in the Gulf of Maine and will facilitate comparisons with ecosystems in which mysid-alewife interactions are well studied. Turbidity as a driver of habitat choice has been hypothesized but never explicitly tested. In the behavioral experiments, the investigator will determine whether Neomysis americana detects and responds to turbidity in a context of risk and resource gradients. Data concerning the effects of turbidity on coastal ecosystems are timely due to the locally increasing and seasonally shifting turbidity generated from coastal runoff and climate change.The broader impacts of the project include broadening participation of Native American youth through activities engaging the Boys and Girls Club of Penobscot Bay; recruitment and training for an undergraduate student from the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences; curriculum development for the Coastal Studies for Girls program; and collaboration with the Downeast Initiative, an organization comprised of fisherman, government representatives and community members. This project is supported under the NSF Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (OCE PRF) 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-PRF 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.