CAREER: Small-scale plankton-aggregate dynamics and the biological pump: Integrating mathematical biology in research and education

全球碳循环在一定程度上受到海洋生物过程的影响，海洋生物过程会影响从地表水输送到深海的碳量。该项目将调查浮游食草动物和海洋聚集体之间的相互作用。海洋聚集体是在海洋表面形成的下沉颗粒，已被证明在海洋食物网中发挥重要作用。这些生物过程的小规模使得研究它们特别具有挑战性，但现代数学和计算机科学的进步使得对这些相互作用的直接观察变得可行。使用高分辨率成像的实验将提供浮游动物摄食和海洋聚集体变化的直接视觉观察。这些实验室研究将指导数学模型的发展，以研究这些相互作用如何影响颗粒碳从海洋表面下沉。该项目将支持一项教育倡议，重点是培养生物学本科生的数学和计算技术。该计划包括开发新的跨学科课程和以本科生为重点的独立研究项目，以帮助培养定量技术的下一代科学家，这些技术对于解决最具挑战性和最复杂的生物学问题至关重要。海洋雪聚集体是在海洋表面由有机物和无机物形成的颗粒。这些聚集体在生物泵中起着基本作用，因为下沉的颗粒是海洋中碳向下转移的主要贡献者。然而，控制这些颗粒的许多小规模过程及其在海洋碳循环中的作用仍然未知。这个项目的目标是利用数学和计算技术来研究浮游生物和浮游食草动物之间的相互作用，这是浮游生物食物网中一个尚未得到充分研究的环节，对碳输出具有重要意义。利用海洋雪薄层中桡足类的三维运动轨迹，研究桡足类对海洋雪斑块分布的觅食行为。此外，高速成像将允许直接观察桡足类动物如何操纵和摄取海洋积雪，从而影响它们的大小和沉降速度。最后，本文将建立一个数学模型来研究这些小规模相互作用对大规模碳循环和出口的影响。该项目还将支持实施一项全面的教育计划，重点是教授本科生如何使用数学建模和计算技术来解决生物学问题。这一教育目标将通过开发数学和计算生物学的新课程以及将本科生纳入独立研究项目来实现。

The global carbon cycle is in part modified by marine biological processes, which can impact the amount of carbon that is transported from surface waters to the deep ocean. This project will investigate interactions between planktonic grazers and marine aggregates - sinking particles that form in the surface ocean and have been shown to play an important role in marine food webs. The small scale of these biological processes makes them particularly challenging to study, but modern advances in mathematics and computer science have made direct observations of these interactions feasible. Experiments using high-resolution imaging will provide direct visual observations of zooplankton ingestion and the alteration of marine aggregates. These laboratory studies will guide the development of mathematical models to examine how these interactions affect particulate carbon sinking out of the surface ocean. This project will support an educational initiative focused on training undergraduate biology students in mathematical and computational techniques. This initiative includes the development of new interdisciplinary courses and undergraduate-focused independent research projects to help prepare the next generation of scientists in quantitative techniques that are essential to tackling the most challenging and complex biological problems. Marine snow aggregates are particles that form in the surface ocean from organic and inorganic matter. These aggregates play a fundamental role in the biological pump, as sinking particles are a dominant contributor to the downward transfer of carbon in the ocean. However, much of the small-scale processes governing these particles and their role in the marine carbon cycle are still unknown. The goal of this project is to use mathematical and computational techniques to investigate interactions between aggregates and planktonic grazers, an understudied link in the planktonic food web that has important implications for carbon export. Three-dimensional trajectories of copepods within marine snow thin layers will be obtained to experimentally investigate copepod foraging behavior in response to patchy distributions of marine snow. In addition, high-speed imaging will allow for the direct observation of how copepods manipulate and ingest marine snow aggregates, thus affecting their size and settling velocity. Lastly, a mathematical model will be developed to study the impact of these small-scale interactions on large-scale carbon cycling and export. This project will also support the implementation of a comprehensive education plan focused on teaching undergraduate students how mathematical modeling and computational techniques can be used to address biological questions. This educational objective will be accomplished through the development of new courses in mathematical and computational biology and through the inclusion of undergraduate students in independent research projects.