Fluid Imaging and Particle Analysis System in Aquatic Ecosystems

水流输送悬浮颗粒物，包括浮游植物（微观藻类）和浮游动物（小动物），它们以浮游植物和浮游动物为食。这些小生物和微粒是水生食物网的基础，这些食物网延伸到在水柱中进食的鱼类、鸟类和哺乳动物以及悬浮进食的双壳类和其他底栖（底栖）生物。浮游植物，浮游动物和颗粒的数量和类型的检查是至关重要的，以确定水生食物网的能量转移和理解水生生态系统的功能。此外，这种了解可以提供水生环境健康的指标，并有助于确定和评估控制/补救战略的有效性。这一点尤其重要，因为新的入侵物种和其他环境扰动影响到我们的内陆和沿海沃茨。因此，要求提供资金，用于购买一套水生生态系统流体成像和微粒分析系统，以测量湖泊、河流和海洋以及实验室实验系统中微粒的大小、形状、丰度和特性。

Water flow transports suspended particulate matter including phytoplankton (microscopic algae) and zooplankton (small animals) that feed upon them and each other. These small organisms and particulates are the basis for aquatic food webs that extend to fish, birds, and mammals that feed in the water column and suspension-feeding bivalves and other benthic (bottom dwelling) organisms. An examination of the number and types of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and particles is critical to determining the energy transfer of aquatic foodwebs and understanding how aquatic ecosystems function. Moreover, such understanding can provide an indication of the health of aquatic environments and help to identify and evaluate the effectiveness of control/remediation strategies. This is especially important as new invasive species and other environmental perturbations affect our inland and coastal waters. Funds are requested, therefore, for the purchase of a Fluid Imaging and Particle Analysis System for Aquatic Ecosystems to measure the size, shape, abundance and identity of particulates in lakes, rivers, and oceans as well as in experimental systems in the laboratory.