Modeling the environmental interactions involving a key species in the Bay of Fundy ecosystem in relation to local and global change scenarios

我们提出的研究属于理解增强或限制健康生态系统的因素的范围。芬迪湾是一个生产力很高、充满活力的生态系统，在经济上很重要。海湾内强烈的潮流侵蚀了周围软粉砂岩和页岩的悬崖，导致海湾上部形成大面积的泥滩。这些泥滩是丰富的栖息地，密集地栖息着一种片脚类动物，Corophium volutator（以下简称Corophium）。这些片脚类动物似乎通过挖洞活动巩固了沉积物，从而稳定了泥滩。此外，它们富含脂肪酸，是鱼类和候鸟的主要食物。鉴于其价值和独特性，芬迪上湾已被指定为西半球滨鸟保护区网络的一部分，以及联合国教科文组织的生物圈保护区

Our proposed research falls within the scope of understanding factors augmenting or limiting healthy ecosystems. The Bay of Fundy is a very productive and dynamic ecosystem that is economically important. Strong tidal currents in the bay erode surrounding cliffs of soft siltstone and shale, leading to the establishment of extensive mudflats in the upper bay. These mudflats are rich habitats, densely inhabited by an amphipod, Corophium volutator (hereafter Corophium). These amphipods appear to consolidate sediments by their burrow-building activities and so stabilize the mudflats. Also, they are rich in fatty acids and are a major food of fish and migratory shorebirds. Given its worth and uniqueness, the upper Bay of Fundy has been designated part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, as well as a biosphere reserve in UNESCO's Man