CREST-Postdoctoral Research Fellowship: Cross-Ecosystem Interactions and the Transport of Aquatic Contaminants to Terrestrial Food Webs within Mangrove Forests

卓越研究中心在科学和技术博士后研究奖学金（CREST-PRF）支持开始CREST中心的研究人员，并为他们提供培训和研究经验，这将拓宽视野，促进跨学科的互动，并建立他们在科学界的领导地位。CREST-PRF研究项目题为“跨生态系统相互作用和红树林内水生污染物向陆地食物网的运输”，通过研究城市化和自然原因对红树林的污染，与佛罗里达国际大学CREST水生化学和环境中心的目标保持一致。由于其独特的位置，在淡水，海洋和陆地生态系统的交叉点，红树林作为一个重要的栖息地，为各种水生和陆生生物，同时也提供重要的生态服务。本研究的具体目的是描述城市化对红树林食物网的影响，以及测量通过水生昆虫从水生生态系统转移到陆地生态系统的污染金属的浓度。这项研究得到了来自佛罗里达南部和波多黎各的几个研究机构和大学的合作支持。培训本科生和研究生开展和传播研究是该项目工作的一部分，同时也是对K-12学生、教师和公众的外联工作，以提高他们对与其社区有关的重要环境问题的理解。水生和陆生食物网之间的生物多样性（即猎物、碎屑或营养物）对于维持红树林生态系统内的生物多样性和生态功能至关重要。自然和人为干扰通过改变水生态系统的物理化学参数，对跨生态系统的相互作用产生重大影响。本研究采用实地研究和化学分析，以描绘城市化如何影响跨生态系统的相互作用和运输的水生污染物陆地食物网内的红树林在雨季和旱季。实地工作包括采样城市和非城市红树林网站在南部佛罗里达和波多黎各，以确定水生昆虫和圆织蜘蛛组合的组成的显着变化，以及量化水生昆虫的饮食贡献和它们的相关性与金属浓度的圆织蜘蛛使用稳定同位素和微量金属分析。此外，生物测定被用来测量对非叮咬性蠓（双翅目：摇蚊科）的生长和羽化率的影响，以应对不断增加的盐度和金属。水生昆虫和蜘蛛的分类群是研究的重点，具有世界性的分布，因此，研究结果可以作为一个比较模型，为其他红树林生态系统研究在地球仪。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得支持的评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

The Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology-Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (CREST-PRF) supports beginning CREST Center investigators and provides them with training and research experiences that will broaden perspectives, facilitate interdisciplinary interactions and establish them in positions of leadership within the scientific community. The CREST-PRF research project titled "Cross-Ecosystem Interactions and the Transport of Aquatic Contaminants to Terrestrial Food Webs within Mangrove Forests" is aligned with the goals of the CREST-Center for Aquatic Chemistry and Environment at Florida International University through its study of contamination of mangrove forests due to urbanization and natural causes. Because of their unique location at the intersection of freshwater, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems, mangroves serve as critical habitat for a wide range of aquatic and terrestrial organisms, while also providing important ecological services. The specific aims of this research is to characterize how mangrove food webs are affected by urbanization, as well as to measure the concentrations of contaminant metals moving from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystems via aquatic insects. The study is supported through the collaborative efforts of several research institutions and universities from southern Florida and Puerto Rico. Training of undergraduates and graduate students in conducting and disseminating research is part of the project's work, as is outreach to K-12 students and teachers and the general public, to enhance their understanding of important environmental issues that are relevant to their communities.The transfer of energy in the form of spatial subsidies (i.e. prey, detritus or nutrients) between aquatic and terrestrial food webs is critical for maintaining biodiversity and ecological functions within mangrove ecosystems. Natural and anthropogenic disturbances have significant effects on cross-ecosystem interactions by altering physical-chemical parameters in aquatic ecosystems. This study employs field studies and chemical analyses to delineate how urbanization affects cross-ecosystem interactions and the transport of aquatic contaminants to terrestrial food webs within mangrove forests during wet and dry seasons. Field work includes sampling urban and non-urban mangrove sites in southern Florida and Puerto Rico to determine significant changes in the composition of aquatic insect and orb-weaving spider assemblages, as well as to quantify the dietary contribution of aquatic insects and their correlation with concentrations of metals in orb-weaving spiders using stable isotope and trace metal analyses. In addition, bioassays are used to measure the effects on growth and emergence rates of non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) in response to increasing levels of salinity and metals. The taxa of aquatic insects and spiders that are the focus of the research have worldwide distributions and therefore findings can be used as a comparative model for other mangrove ecosystem studies around the globe.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.