Testing the Invasion Process: Survival, Dispersal, Genetic Characterization, and Attenuation of Marine Biota on the 2011 Japanese Tsunami Marine Debris Field

该项目将研究2011年3月日本北方东北地震和海啸中与漂浮海洋垃圾相关的抵达美国西海岸的海洋生物。 碎片的体积很大，有可能引发外来物种的大规模注入。 例如，2012年6月，一个20米长的浮船坞从本州岛的三泽港脱落，将近100种亚洲物种运送到俄勒冈州海岸。 PI建议从筏式生物群中收集关于物种身份、种群结构、生殖条件、生长历史、遗传学和寄生虫/病原体存在的数据。 这项工作不仅仅是对即将到来的东西进行评估，还将围绕评估一些对了解长途漂流和随后入侵的潜力至关重要的参数进行结构化。 PI还将记录遗传多样性，提供关于入侵的另一个视角，并在基因对北美是新的情况下，为研究新基因在新环境中的传播提供基线。 在大多数情况下，成年阶段在大片海洋中的分散是罕见的，因此很难研究。 海啸产生的大规模碎片场为这些研究提供了一个独特的机会。 更广泛的影响：生物入侵是社区和生态系统变化的主要驱动力。 这项研究的结果将提供关于入侵过程和潜力的宝贵信息，并在短期内提供关于与目前碎片场有关的入侵者的物种组成、特征和丰度的迅速、权威的信息。这项工作将包括评估可能威胁本地物种的寄生虫和病原体。

This project will examine marine organisms arriving on the US West Coast in association with floating marine debris from the March 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in northern Japan. The volume of debris is large and has the potential to inaugurate a massive injection of foreign species. As an example, in June 2012, a single, 20 m-long floating dock dislodged from the port of Misawa on Honshu Island transported nearly 100 Asian species to the coast of Oregon. The PIs propose to gather data on species identity, population structure, reproductive condition, growth histories, genetics, and parasite/pathogen presence from the rafted biota. More than just an assessment of what is arriving, the work will be structured around evaluating a number of parameters important for understanding the potential for long-distance rafting and subsequent invasions. The PIs will also document genetic diversity, providing another perspective on invasions and, where the genes are novel to North America, providing a baseline for examining the spread of novel genes in a new environment. Under most circumstances, the dispersal of adult stages across large expanses of ocean is rare and therefore difficult to study. The large debris field from the tsunami provides a unique opportunity for these studies. Broader Impacts: Biological invasions are a major driver of community and ecosystem change. The findings of this study will provide valuable information on invasion processes and potential, and in the short term will provide rapid, authoritative information on the species composition, traits, and abundance of invaders associated with the present debris field. The work will include an assessment of parasites and pathogens which could threaten native species.