Zooplankton control of climate change impacts on ocean food-webs

浮游动物是海洋食物网中浮游植物（微观植物）与高级消费者（如鱼类、海鸟）之间的关键环节。虽然人们普遍认为，气候驱动的浮游动物群落变化在渔业、海洋鸟类和哺乳动物种群数量下降中发挥了关键作用，但驱动浮游动物对气候变化做出反应的过程仍未得到充分解决。填补这一知识缺口对于理解气候变化对生态系统的影响、可持续资源管理、渔业保护和政策至关重要，也代表了我的长期项目目标。******此应用程序支持三个相互关联的短期目标，以支持此目标。******目标1：建立一个基于尺寸的浮游动物食物网动态测量框架，以规避浮游动物群落复杂性带来的挑战。这种方法将改变浮游动物食物网的研究，使捕食者-猎物关系的测量实现全球标准化；2)生化特性的传递；3)食物链长度，这最终决定了生产率。不列颠哥伦比亚省的生态系统将作为案例研究，利用渔业和海洋部和Hakai研究所的海洋观测平台。******目标2：提出一种新的经验方法，结合生物化学和生物量大小谱理论来测量食物网组分之间的能量传递效率（ETE）。气候驱动的生态系统生产力变化，包括渔业，只有在获得ETE估算后才能得到充分理解。这种开创性的方法将应用于全球不同海洋生态系统的生产力气候预测，并使其成为可能。******目标3：引领食物网模式的范式转变。目前的模式对浮游生物类群的参数化过于简化和不一致，并且使用的是对ETE的理论估计。目标1和2的结果将被纳入Ecopath with Ecosim模型框架，以彻底改变生态系统动态的表示，模拟食物网对气候变化的响应，以及资源管理。******由于它们在海洋食物网中的重要连接功能，浮游动物是气候变化影响的关键控制因素。我的研究计划将为理解浮游动物对气候变化的反应机制做出重要贡献，并最终产生更有效的基于生态系统的管理。我独特的全球经验和结合原始分析方法的能力为实现概述的目标提供了必要的背景。这些将在一个充满活力的实验室中实现，为HQP提供一个特殊的学习环境，他们将使用尖端的工具，在国家和国际团队中工作，并为食物网生态学的前沿做出贡献。

Zooplankton are the critical link in marine food-webs between phytoplankton (microscopic plants) and higher level consumers (e.g., fish, seabirds). While widely accepted that climate-driven changes in zooplankton communities have played a key role in declines of fisheries and populations of marine birds and mammals, the processes that drive zooplankton response to climate change remain weakly resolved. Filling this knowledge gap is fundamental to: understanding ecosystem impacts of climate change, sustainable resource management, and fisheries conservation and policy, and represents my long-term program goal. ******This application is in support of three interlinked short-term objectives in support of this goal. ******Objective 1: Build a size-based framework for measurement of zooplankton food-web dynamics that will circumvent the challenges posed zooplankton community complexity. This approach will transform zooplankton food-web research, enabling global standardization of measurements of 1) predator-prey linkages; 2) transfer of biochemical properties; and 3) food-chain length, which ultimately determines productivity. British Columbia ecosystems will be used as case studies, taking advantage of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Hakai Institute's ocean observation platforms.******Objective 2: Advance a new empirical approach, lacking to date, combining biochemistry and biomass size spectrum theory to measure Energy Transfer Efficiency (ETE) between food-web components. Climate-driven changes to ecosystem productivity, including fisheries, will only be fully understood once ETE estimates are available. This ground breaking approach will be applied to and enable climate projections of productivity across contrasting ocean ecosystems globally.******Objective 3: Lead a paradigm shift in food-web models. Current models grossly oversimplify and inconsistently parameterize plankton groups, and use theoretical estimates of ETE. The outcomes of Objectives 1 and 2 will be incorporated into the Ecopath with Ecosim model framework, to revolutionize the representation of ecosystem dynamics, simulation of food web response to climate change, and resource management. ******Due to their essential linking function in marine food-webs, zooplankton are a key control of climate change impacts. My research program is poised to make a critical contribution to the mechanistic understanding of zooplankton response to climate change, and will ultimately yield more effective ecosystem-based management. My unique global experience and demonstrated ability to combine original analytical methods provide the background required to achieve the outlined objectives. These will be achieved in a dynamic laboratory offering an exceptional learning environment for HQP who will use cutting edge tools, work in national and international teams, and contribute to the leading edge of food web ecology.