Purchase of an upright fluorescence microscope

这项建议是购买一台立式亮场徕卡DM5000 B显微镜，配备差示干涉对比、荧光、数码相机和图像分析软件。该系统将在未来3年内用于结合地质、生物和生态学方法的几个研究项目，以记录和了解各种海洋生态系统中的微藻群落。荧光显微镜可以对甲藻和其他海洋微藻的鉴定、形态、活力和营养特性(光合作用或不光合作用的能力)进行详细研究。其中一个项目将侧重于北极地区的甲藻(单细胞原生生物)及其包囊。北极海冰融化带来的潜在航运增加将伴随着航运增加和大量压载水的摄入/交换，这对于保持船舶的稳定性是必要的。甲藻和它们的包囊可以在压载水中存活数周，并在压载储水池被清空或冲洗后侵入新的区域。因此，我们需要记录它们在北极地区的丰度和分布，以便监测潜在的入侵者，并有效地帮助制定缓解措施。甲藻可产生有毒水华(例如2008年的圣劳伦斯河口)，并导致鱼类、鸟类和海洋哺乳动物种群大量死亡。在圣劳伦斯河口，塔玛亚历山大藻产生休眠的包囊，在形成几个月后可能会萌发，潜伏在上层沉积物中，为未来的有毒水华提供“种子库”。因此，我们需要记录圣劳伦斯河口/海湾地区的囊床的空间分布，以帮助预测未来的水华事件。另一个项目将根据甲藻孢囊组合提供过去2000年的古海洋学重建(温度、盐度和海冰覆盖)(特别强调工业前/工业转型)。这将提供有关实际全球变暖开始之前普遍存在的海洋条件的宝贵数据，并有助于未来的气候情景。

This proposal is to purchase an upright bright field Leica DM5000 B microscope equipped with differential interference contrast, fluorescence, digital camera and image analysis software. The system will be used in several research projects combining geological, biological and ecological approaches over the next 3 years to document and understand microalgal communities in various marine ecosystems. The fluorescence microscope allows for detailed studies on the identification, morphology, viability and trophic character (ability to photosynthesize or not) of dinoflagellates and other marine microalgae. One project will focus on dinoflagellates (unicellular protists) and their cysts in Arctic regions. The potential increase of shipping due to the melting of sea ice in the Arctic will be accompanied by increased shipping and intense ballast water intake/exchange, which is necessary to maintain the ships stability. Dinoflagellates and their cysts can survive several weeks in the ballast water and invade new areas when the ballast reservoirs are emptied or flushed. Therefore, we need to document their abundance and distribution in Arctic regions in order to monitor potential invaders and to effectively help developing mitigation measures. Dinoflagellates can produce toxic blooms (e.g. St. Lawrence Estuary in 2008) and cause massive deaths in the fish, bird and marine mammal populations. In the St. Lawrence Estuary, Alexandrium tamarense produces resting cysts that may germinate several months after being formed, lying dormant in the upper sediment layer, and acting as a "seed bank" for future toxic blooms. Therefore, we need to document the spatial distribution of the cyst beds within the Estuary/Gulf of St. Lawrence area to help anticipate future bloom episodes. Another project will be providing paleoceanographic reconstructions (temperature, salinity and sea ice cover) for the last 2000 years (with particular emphasis on the pre-industrial/industrial transition) based on dinoflagellate cyst assemblages. This will provide precious data on the oceanic conditions that prevailed prior to the onset of the actual global warming, and contribute to future climate scenarios.