Deciphering Interactions Among Marine Introduced Parasites and Native Hosts

通过增加全球运输，世界海洋之间的联系变得更加紧密。这种运输将生物体带到了以前没有发现的地方。它们中的一些会成为入侵生物，扰乱当地的海洋栖息地。在这些入侵物种中，寄生虫尤其麻烦。它们通常很小，很容易被忽视，并可能导致本地物种的大规模死亡。尽管海洋入侵寄生虫带来了严重的负面影响，但科学家们仍然缺乏对使它们能够在新的栖息地成功站稳脚跟的机制的深入了解。本项目将研究关于海洋入侵寄生虫建立的三个主要问题：(1)当寄生虫到达新的栖息地时，寄生虫如何识别新的宿主？(2)为什么入侵的寄生虫可以如此快速地传播到新的宿主？(3)新的宿主种群如何在大量寄生虫侵袭的情况下保持生存能力？这个研究系统是来自北美太平洋沿岸的本土蓝泥虾；从亚洲引进的一种吸血寄生虫；以及寄生虫的原始宿主亚洲泥虾。该项目将极大地扩展海洋入侵生物学的知识，并有助于制定有效的保护战略，以避免不可预见的生态灾难。阿拉斯加将建立一项公民科学计划，以监测泥虾和寄生虫的种群动态。将建立一个以博物馆为基础的外联计划，以鼓励未被充分代表的中小学女孩对海洋科学感兴趣。此外，研究生、本科生和高中生将参与研究，培养下一代科学家。这项建议由生物科学局综合有机体系统(IOS)司的共生、防御和自我识别(SDS)计划和地球科学局海洋科学司(OCE)的生物海洋学科共同资助。为了描述入侵的卷足虫等足类寄生虫(Orthione Griffenis)和宿主虾(Upogebia pugettensis和Upogebia main)之间的相互作用，该研究计划将生成从加利福尼亚州到阿拉斯加的整个入侵范围的生态、行为和基因数据。首先，元基因组学和行为实验将测试宿主洞穴中的微生物线索是否在吸引寄生虫幼虫定居方面发挥重要作用，帮助寄生虫从亚洲河口过渡到北美河口。其次，实验将解决新宿主和寄生虫之间缺乏共同进化史，或者寄生虫的“敌人释放”是新宿主上高感染率的主要驱动因素。这些假说将通过比较不同宿主在新旧分布范围内的寄生虫流行率来检验。最后，我们将利用双酶切酶切位点相关的DNA方法来研究新宿主的群体基因组学。这项研究解决了入侵寄生虫、新宿主、原始宿主和海洋河口微生物群落之间的多层次相互作用。这一结果将作为博比林入侵模式的模型，并有助于发现和监测其他潜在的海洋寄生虫入侵或流行。将建立一个公民科学计划和一个以博物馆为基础的外展计划，以鼓励公众对海洋科学感兴趣。此外，研究生、本科生和高中生将参与培养下一代科学家的研究。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The world's oceans become more connected through increased global transportation. This transportation has brought organisms to places where they were previously not found. Some of them become invasive and disrupt native marine habitats. Among these invasive species, parasites are particularly troublesome. They are usually small, easily overlooked, and can cause mass mortality of native species. Despite the serious negative impacts of marine invasive parasites, scientists still lack an in-depth understanding of mechanisms that enable them to successfully establish themselves in a new habitat. This project will study three major questions regarding marine invasive parasites' establishment: (1) How do parasites recognize new hosts when arriving at a new habitat? (2) Why can invasive parasites spread so fast to new hosts? (3) How do new host populations maintain viability despite heavy parasite infestation? This study system is the native blue mud shrimp from the Pacific coast of North America; a blood sucking parasite introduced from Asia; and the parasite's original host, the Asian mud shrimp. This project will greatly expand the knowledge of marine invasive biology and help develop effective conservation strategies to avoid unforeseen ecological disasters. A citizen science program will be established in Alaska to monitor population dynamics of the mud shrimp and the parasite. A museum-based outreach program will be established to encourage excitement about marine science in underrepresented elementary and middle school girls. In addition, graduate students, undergraduate students and high school students will participate in research to train the next generation of scientists. This proposal was co-funded by the Symbiosis, Defense and Self-recognition (SDS) program in the Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) Division of the Biological Sciences Directorate and by the Biological Oceanography section of the Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE) of the Geosciences Directorate.To characterize interactions between the invasive bopyrid isopod parasite (Orthione griffenis) and the host shrimps (Upogebia pugettensis and Upogebia major), this research program will generate ecological, behavioral, and genetic data over the entire range of the invasion, from California to Alaska. First, metagenomics and behavioral experiments will test whether microbial cues in the host burrows play a major role in attracting parasite larval settlement, aiding the parasite's transition from Asian to North American estuaries. Second, experiments will address whether the lacking of co-evolutionary history between the new host and the parasite, or an "enemy release" for the parasite, is the main driver for the high infectious rate on the new host. The hypotheses will be tested by comparing parasite prevalence on different hosts in their old and new distribution ranges. Lastly, the double digest restriction site-associated DNA approach will be used to investigate the population genomics of the new host. The research addresses multiple-level interactions among the invasive parasite, the new host, the original host, and the marine estuarine microbial communities. Results will serve as a model of bopyrid invasion pattern, and aid the discovery and monitoring of other potential marine parasite invasions or epidemics. A citizen science program and a museum-based outreach program will be established to encourage excitement about marine science in the public. In addition, graduate students, undergraduate students and high school students will participate in research to train the next generation of scientists.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.