Ecosystem function in changing environments: an integrative approach to modeling the control of genetic biodiversity and secondary productivity by hydrodynamic circulation

由于人类活动和自然过程的结合，沿海环境是受到严重压力的生态系统。 圣劳伦斯河口（SLE）是加拿大最大和受影响最严重的河口，由于一系列的压力，包括污染和过度捕捞。 这种生态系统的关键特征是循环模式-水流和潮汐的结合，它们既创造了具有不同特征的水团，又永久或暂时地运输生活在水柱中的生物（即，底栖无脊椎动物的幼虫）。 因此，流通模式将对物种的种群结构产生深远的影响，既通过创造一个异质的环境，可以支持遗传多样性和当地种群的稳定性，并通过控制种群之间的个人扩散。 最终，这些影响将影响次级生产，这是维持食物网结构和能量流动的一个关键生态系统功能。 在这里，我们建议检查沿海和近海环流的人口结构和次级生产的三个关键的无脊椎动物，河口桡足类，海洋桡足类，和海洋贻贝，共同形成的基础上，在SLE的次级生产的影响。 同时，我们将描述这些物种的遗传和人口结构，研究如何任何这样的结构对应于水文结构的SLE和文件的影响，这种结构的生态生理性能。然后，我们将利用这些信息开发能够预测不同环境情景下的次级生产力的模型，包括与气候变化相关的模型（例如，改变淡水排放）。 我们预计流通模式将有很大的影响，人口结构与随之而来的影响，在确定的空间尺度和时间稳定性的管理单位，一个重要的过程，在政府环境政策的发展，保护加拿大生态系统的健康，一个至关重要的后果的二次生产。

Coastal environments are severely stressed ecosystems due to a combination of human activities and natural processes.  The St. Lawrence estuary (SLE) is Canada's largest and most heavily impacted estuary due to a suite of stressors including pollution and over-fishing.  The keystone feature underlying this ecosystem is the pattern of circulation - the combination of currents and tides that both create water masses of distinct characteristics and transport organisms living in the water column either permanently or temporarily (i.e., the larvae of benthic invertebrates).  Circulation patterns will thus have profound effects on the population structure of species both by creating a heterogeneous environment that can support genetic diversity and local population stability and by controlling the dispersal of individuals between populations.  Ultimately these effects will influence secondary production, a key ecosystem function in the maintenance of food web structure and energy flow.  Here we propose to examine the influence of coastal and off-shore circulation on the population structure and secondary production of three key invertebrates, an estuarine copepod, a marine copepod, and a marine mussel, that together form the basis of secondary production in the SLE.  In parallel, we will describe the genetic and demographic structure of these species, examine how any such structure corresponds to hydrographic structures of the SLE and document the effect of this structure on ecophysiological performance. We will then use this information to develop models capable of predicting the secondary productivity under different environmental scenarios, including those associated with climate change (e.g., altered freshwater discharge).  We anticipate circulation patterns will have large effects on population structure with concomitant effects on the secondary production, a consequence of key importance in identifying the spatial scales and temporal stability of management units, a vital process in the development of governmental environmental policies for protecting the health of Canadian ecosystems.