Ecological comparisons of salt marshes and mudflats in contrasting tidal regimes

这笔赠款将支持我们对加拿大海岸带盐沼和泥滩生态的研究。这些生态系统是动态的，具有生物生产力，具有提供多种生态系统服务的价值(如储存碳、过滤污染、为各种生物创造苗圃栖息地，以及保护海岸免受风暴活动和海平面上升的影响)。盐沼的特点是坚韧、耐盐的草能够在有规律地被潮水覆盖的沉积物上生长。泥滩通常位于盐沼向海的一侧；特别是在芬迪湾，泥滩的范围可能很大，沿海岸绵延数公里，退潮时宽达一公里以上。这些泥滩支持着极其丰富的无脊椎动物，每年夏天，它们都成为数百万迁徙的滨鸟的重要觅食场所。我们的研究项目致力于了解盐沼和泥滩生态系统的结构和内部工作原理。作为一项长期研究策略，我们的做法是进行一系列精心规划的研究，每一项研究都旨在解决一个具体的问题，以启发我们的整体理解。在这笔拨款的资助下，我们会就泥滩的群落生态、盐沼的营养生态，以及两个邻近生态系统之间的生态联系，进行具体的研究。人口、社区和生态系统之间的连通性可以影响种群的持久性和物种共存，并可能导致区域尺度上的动态，而这些动态是地方尺度上的动态无法预测的。我们研究的一个总体特点是，我们描述了生活在两个潮汐环境截然不同的地区的动植物物种的种群和群落动态。诺森伯兰海峡只遭遇小潮，海水清澈，水温季节性变化强烈，而芬迪湾则受到大潮的影响，海水浑浊，水温全年变化小得多。对地理位置接近的这些不同地点进行比较，是确定生态机制和解释观察到的模式的有力研究策略。研究不同的潮汐环境还将增进我们对软质沉积物海岸线如何受到海平面或潮汐幅度变化的影响的理解。由于拟议的研究将在全年进行，我们也会评估冬季骚扰对生态模式和过程的程度和影响。冬季的影响可能是巨大的，但对北温带海岸线的研究有限。

This grant will support our study of the ecology of salt marshes and mudflats in Maritime Canada. These ecosystems are dynamic and biologically-productive, valued for providing several ecosystem services (such as storing carbon, filtering pollution, creating nursery habitat for a diversity of organisms, and sheltering coasts from storm activity and sea level rise). Salt marshes are characterized by tough, salt-tolerant grasses able to grow on sediments regularly covered by tidal water. Mudflats are typically found on the seaward side of salt marshes; in the Bay of Fundy, in particular, the mudflats can be vast in extent, extending for several kilometres along the coast and being over a kilometre wide at low tide. These mudflats support an extraordinary abundance of invertebrates, and every summer they become essential feeding grounds for millions of migrating shorebirds. Our research program is dedicated to understanding the structure and inner-workings of salt marsh and mudflat ecosystems. As a long-term research strategy, our approach is to undertake a series of carefully-planned studies, with each study designed to address a specific question that will enlighten our overall understanding. With this grant support, we will undertake specific studies focused on the community ecology of mudflats, on the trophic ecology of salt marshes, and on the ecological connections that exist between the two neighbouring ecosystems. Connectivity among populations, communities and ecosystems can affect population persistence and species coexistence, and may lead to dynamics at regional scales that are not predicted by dynamics at local scales. A general feature of our studies is that we characterize the population and community dynamics of animal and plant species living in two regions that experience very different tidal environments. The Northumberland Strait encounters only small tides, with clear water and strong seasonal changes in water temperature, while the Bay of Fundy is subject to huge tides, with turbid water and much smaller variation in water temperature year-round. The comparison of such distinctive sites in geographically close locations is a powerful research strategy for identifying ecological mechanisms and interpreting observed patterns. Studying the different tidal environments will also improve our understanding of how soft-sediment shorelines may be affected by changes in sea level or tidal amplitudes. Since the proposed studies will be conducted throughout the year, we will also assess the extent and effect of winter disturbance on ecological patterns and processes. Winter effects can be substantial, but have received limited study along coastlines at north temperate latitudes.