US-China Planning Visit: Increased Temperature, Ocean Acidification, and Cultural Eutrophication Effects on Phytoplankton Production and Trophic Transfer of Essential Fatty Acids

海洋酸化、温度升高和养殖富营养化是人类活动造成的可测量和日益严重的影响。这三种压力都影响到地表水，在那里，单细胞的植物状生物（浮游植物）的光合作用依赖于海洋食物网。该规划项目旨在促进中美两国研究人员之间的研究合作，研究这些压力的综合影响如何改变浮游植物必需脂肪酸的产生，以及这些变化如何反过来影响海洋食物网。这一发现的意义是深远的，因为包括人类在内的高等生物依靠浮游植物来产生这些特殊的化合物来提供我们的营养。该项目将由dr。美方代表Mark Wells、Lawrence Mayer、Charles Trick（缅因大学）、William Cochlan博士（旧金山州立大学）和Robert Bidigare博士（夏威夷大学）。我们在厦门大学海洋环境科学国家重点实验室的中国同事是；高昆山，戴敏涵，董云伟，蔡平和，陈斌章。规划提案将重点利用这些参与者的化学和生态系统专业知识，以及厦门大学东山海洋实验室最先进的生态系统设施，研究海洋酸化、温度升高和富营养化之间的协同作用如何影响基础食物网的营养质量。总的来说，这次合作的目的是揭示温度升高、海洋酸化和营养通量的综合效应如何影响浮游植物向浮游动物的多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFAs）和必需脂肪酸（EFAs）的产生和营养转移。这些压力的协同效应将影响细胞生理以及浮游植物物种之间的竞争成功，两者都导致浮游动物可用pufa和EFAs池的改变。反过来，浮游动物（和混合营养动物）的摄食偏好将影响EFAs的营养转移效率和食草动物的繁殖力/生长。项目成员的专业知识涵盖海洋化学、浮游植物生理学、营养获取、脂质生产和分析、浮游动物生理学以及大型中生态系统的运作。计划访问的目标是：1)利用他们新的，世界级的浮动和岸基中游环境设施设计一个创新的实验研究；2)合作撰写联合研究提案，提交给美国和中国的资助机构。这项合作将为本科生和研究生提供培训机会，并将开发使用中生态技术的创新方法。

PROJECT ABSTRACTOcean acidification, increasing temperature, and cultural eutrophication are measurable and increasing impacts resulting from human activities. All three of these stresses impact surface waters, where the photosynthesis of single-celled, plant-like organisms (phytoplankton) are depended upon to support marine food webs. This planning project aims to catalyze a research collaboration between US and Chinese researchers to study how the combined effect of these stresses alter the production of essential fatty acids by phytoplankton, and how these changes, in turn, affect the marine food web. The implications are profound because higher organisms, including humans, rely upon phytoplankton to produce these special compounds for our nutrition. The project will be led by Drs. Mark Wells, Lawrence Mayer, and Charles Trick (University of Maine), Dr. William Cochlan (San Francisco State University), and Dr. Robert Bidigare (University of Hawaii) for the US side. Our Chinese colleagues at the State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, are Drs. Kunshan Gao, Minhan Dai, Yunwei Dong, Pinghe Cai, and Binzhang Chen. The planning proposal will focus on using the combined chemical and ecosystem expertise of these participants along with state-of-the-art mesocosm facilities at the Dong Shan Marine Laboratory, Xiamen University to study how synergies among ocean acidification, increased temperature, and eutrophication affect the nutritional quality of the foundational food web.Overall, the purpose of this collaboration is to elicit how the combined effects of increasing temperature, ocean acidification and nutrient flux affect the production and trophic transfer of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and essential fatty acids (EFAs) from phytoplankton to zooplankton. The synergistic effects of these stresses will impact cell physiology as well as competitive success among phytoplankton species, both leading to alterations in the pool of available PUFAs and EFAs to zooplankton. In turn, zooplankton (and mixotrophy) feeding preferences will impact the trophic transfer efficiency of EFAs and the fecundity/growth of the grazers. The project members have a combined expertise spanning ocean chemistry, phytoplankton physiology, nutrient acquisition, lipid production and analysis, zooplankton physiology, and the operation of large-scale mesocosms. The objectives of the planning visit are: 1) to design an innovative experimental study using their new, world-class floating and shore-based mesocosm facilities, and 2) to collaboratively write joint research proposals for submission to the US and Chinese funding agencies. The collaboration will generate training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and will develop innovative new approaches to the use of mesocosm technologies.