"Individual, population and community-level effects of stress in a soft-sediment intertidal system: implications for the invertebrate community and foraging shorebirds."

温度应力对软质沉积潮间带系统的影响一直未得到充分的研究。这是一个问题，因为生活在这些系统中的动物经常经历与潮汐流动相关的每日较大的温度变化。这些动物中的许多现在可能生活在接近它们最大耐热性的地方，所以未来气温的上升对这些物种和整个群落都可能是个问题。因此，加拿大芬迪湾上游的滩涂社区很容易受到气候变化的影响。该地区的无脊椎动物群落以端足类科氏蜗牛为主。泥螺(Ilyanassa Obsoleta)也很常见，它们通过各种相互作用对Corophium产生负面影响。每年夏末，迁徙的滨鸟，特别是半配对的琵鹭(Calidris Pusilla)，在从北极繁殖地前往南美越冬地的途中，会在该地区停留。该地区是它们重要的中途停留点，在此期间，它们大量以泥滩无脊椎动物为食，尤其是Corophium。基于此，我建议通过实验室和野外研究，从个体生理水平和对种群的影响两个方面，研究温度和暴露于其他胁迫对Corophium生存和繁殖的影响。我还将研究压力对Corophium和泥螺之间相互作用的影响。此外，我将实施一项为期5年的研究，研究琵琶在芬迪湾的活动和觅食情况。这项工作将包括放射性追踪滨鸟和采集血液样本进行稳定同位素分析，这将使我们能够估计饮食。我们将确定停留时间、不同饮食下的体重增加(重要知识，因为足够的体重增加是成功迁徙的关键)，以及访问该地区的鸟类的年度存活率。总体而言，这项工作将提高我们对这个系统和类似系统中热源和其他应激源的影响的理解，并将帮助我们预测气候变化对泥滩和依赖泥滩的沙笛鱼的影响。

Effects of thermal stress in soft-sediment intertidal systems have been under-studied. This is a problem because animals living in these systems often experience large daily thermal shifts related to tidal flow. Many of these animals may be living near their maximum thermal tolerance now, so increasing temperatures in the future could be problematic for both the species in question and the community as a whole. For this reason, mudflat communities in the upper Bay of Fundy, Canada, are vulnerable to effects of climate change. The invertebrate community in this area is dominated by the amphipod Corophium volutator. Also common are mudsnails (Ilyanassa obsoleta), which have negative effects on Corophium through a variety of interactions. Migratory shorebirds, particularly Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) stop in the region each year in late summer en route from their Arctic breeding grounds to South American wintering grounds. The area is a crucial stopover point for them, and during their time here they feed extensively on mudflat invertebrates, particularly Corophium. Based on this, I propose to investigate, using lab and field studies, the effects of temperature and exposure to other stresses on Corophium survival and reproduction, both on an individual physiological level and in term of effects on the population. I will also examine the effects of stress on the interaction between Corophium and mudsnails. Further, I will implement a 5-year study of sandpiper movement and feeding throughout the Bay of Fundy. This work will involve radiotracking shorebirds and taking blood samples for stable isotope analysis, which will allow us to estimate diet. We will determine residence time, weight gain on different diets (important knowledge because adequate weight gain is essential for successful migration), and annual survival of birds visiting this region. Overall, this work will improve our understanding of effects of thermal and other stressors in this and similar systems, and will help us to predict the implications of climate change for mudflats, and for sandpipers that depend on them.