LTER: MCR IIB: Long-Term Dynamics of a Coral Reef Ecosystem

智力价值：Moorea珊瑚礁(MCR)LTER成立于2004年，目的是研究脉冲扰动和局部和全球应激源缓慢变化的环境对群落和生态系统的影响。该遗址是法属波利尼西亚莫雷亚岛周围的珊瑚礁综合体，包括一个泻湖系统(有边缘的珊瑚礁和后礁栖息地)和近海陡峭的前礁。统一MCR研究的核心问题集中在生态弹性，特别是影响珊瑚礁吸收扰动并重新组合到以石珊瑚为主的群落而不退化到另一种状态(例如，由大型藻类主导的群落)的能力的过程和属性。在MCR I结束时，莫雷亚周围外礁上的几乎所有珊瑚都被一种珊瑚捕食者的自然但短暂的爆发所杀死，紧随其后的是暴风浪，将岛三个海岸之一的前礁上的死珊瑚骨架带走。这些扰动对泻湖栖息地的珊瑚几乎没有影响。这些性质不同的扰动的景观尺度效应的空间差异为生物多样性研究提供了一个无与伦比的科学机会，以解决有关珊瑚礁的干扰和恢复以及群落结构对珊瑚礁功能的影响等基本的悬而未决的问题。MCR研究计划涉及两个时间范围，因此研究活动被组织成两个相应的主题。研究主题1(当代珊瑚礁的复原力)侧重于在全球气候变化(GCC)和海洋酸化(OA)的当前压力水平下，促进或抑制受干扰的珊瑚礁群落恢复到以珊瑚为主的状态的因素。研究主题2(未来珊瑚礁的结构和功能)着眼于更长的时间范围，并寻求洞察GCC和OA相关驱动因素的预测变化可能如何改变底栖群落的结构，以及这些变化对生态系统过程的后果。这项针对这些相互关联的主题的综合研究计划包括问题驱动的时间序列测量、长期现场实验、短期现场和实验室实验和测量，以及综合和概括结果的建模和综合活动。生物多样性研究IIB的六个目标是：(A)有助于了解影响珊瑚礁复原力的因素以及与GCC和开放式研究有关的驱动因素将如何影响珊瑚礁；(B)继续我们关于群落动态、生态系统过程和物理化学驱动因素的长期数据集；(C)维持3项长期实地实验，并启动1项新的实验；(D)发展和测试生态理论；(E)继续改进我们的信息管理系统，以更充分地满足长期研究网络和更广泛的科学界的需要；(F)保持生物多样性研究外联部分的有效性。更广泛的影响：珊瑚礁不仅在生态上重要--它们每年产生超过3750亿美元的商品和服务(其中大部分在发展中国家)，容易受到人类活动和气候压力的影响。因此，这项研究对世界各地的资源管理者、政策制定者和利益相关者具有现实意义和应用价值。LTER调查结果每年提交给法属波利尼西亚环境部长，并已用于莫雷亚海洋保护区的开发。LTER教育活动产生的更广泛影响包括博士后指导、结合本科生和研究生培训的研究、教员研究人员和K-12教师积极参与MCR研究、将MCR研究结果纳入教学课程、朝着种族多样化的MCR学生社区取得进展、以及主要为本科生和少数族裔服务的机构的教职员工和学生的参与。妇女权利委员会的推广工作也产生了其他影响，包括与三所服务于社会经济弱势群体和少数族裔学生的当地学校建立了伙伴关系，与加州大学圣巴巴拉礁分校(研究体验和教育基金)建立了伙伴关系，每年向10,000多名K-12儿童和公众提供妇女权利委员会的研究，与莫雷亚的阿提亚中心建立了伙伴关系，接触到塔希提亚学童和公众。

Intellectual Merit: The Moorea Coral Reef (MCR) LTER was established in 2004 to investigate community and ecosystem effects of pulsed perturbations and slowly changing environment from local and global stressors. The site is the coral reef complex surrounding the island of Moorea, French Polynesia, which includes a lagoon system (with fringing reef and back reef habitats) and a steeply sloping fore reef offshore. The core issue that unifies MCR research centers on ecological resilience, specifically the processes and attributes that affect the capacity of a coral reef to absorb perturbations and reassemble to a community dominated by stony corals without degrading to an alternative state (e.g., one dominated by macroalgae). At the end of MCR I, virtually all of the coral on the outer fore reef surrounding Moorea was killed by a natural but brief outbreak of a coral predator, which was followed by storm waves that removed dead coral skeletons from the fore reef on one of the three shores of the island. These perturbations had little effect on corals in lagoon habitats. Spatial variation in the landscape scale effects of these qualitatively different perturbations provides the MCR with an unparalleled scientific opportunity to address fundamental, unresolved questions regarding disturbance and recovery of coral reefs, together with the effects of community structure on reef functioning. The MCR research program addresses two time horizons and hence research activities are organized into two corresponding themes. Research Theme 1 (Resilience of Contemporary Reefs) focuses on factors that promote or inhibit the return of a perturbed reef community to a coral-dominated state under current levels of stressors from Global Climate Change (GCC) and Ocean Acidification (OA). Research Theme 2 (Structure and Function of Reefs in the Future) addresses the longer time horizon and seeks insight into how forecasted changes in GCC- and OA-related drivers may alter the structure of the benthic community, together with the consequences of those changes to ecosystem processes. This integrated research program for these inter-related themes includes question-driven time series measurements, long term field experiments, shorter-term field and laboratory experiments and measurements, and modeling and synthesis activities to integrate and generalize the results. The six goals of MCR IIB are to: (a) contribute to understanding what factors influence reef resilience and how GCC- and OA-related drivers will affect coral reefs; (b) continue our long term datasets on community dynamics, ecosystem processes and physical and chemical drivers; (c) maintain 3 long term field experiments and initiate 1 new one; (d) develop and test ecological theory; (e) continue to enhance our information management system to more fully meet the needs of the LTER network and the broader scientific community; and (f) maintain the effectiveness of MCR outreach components. Broader Impacts: Coral reefs are not just ecologically important - they yield upwards of $375 billion annually in goods and services (most of it in the developing world) that are vulnerable to human activities and climate forcing. Hence this research has relevance and application to resource managers, policy makers and stakeholders worldwide. LTER findings are presented annually to the Minister of the Environment of French Polynesia and have been used in the development of Marine Protected Areas for Moorea. Broader impacts arising from LTER educational activities include postdoctoral mentoring, research that integrates undergraduate and graduate training, active participation of faculty researchers and K-12 teachers in MCR research, incorporation of MCR findings in teaching curricula, progress towards an ethnically diverse MCR student community, and involvement of faculty and students from predominantly undergraduate and minority-serving institutions. Additional impacts are realized by MCR outreach efforts, including partnerships with three local schools that serve socioeconomically disadvantaged and minority students, with the University of California - Santa Barbara REEF (Research Experience & Education Facility) that exposes over 10,000 K-12 and public visitors annually to MCR research, and with the Atitia Center on Moorea to reach Tahitian school children and the public.