Ecological comparisons of salt marshes and mudflats in contrasting tidal regimes

这笔赠款将支持我们在加拿大海事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，因提供多种生态系统服务而受到重视（例如储存碳，过滤污染，为多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、耐盐的草能够生长在潮汐水经常覆盖的沉积物上。泥滩通常位于盐沼向海的一侧;特别是在芬迪湾，泥滩面积很大，沿海岸沿着延伸数公里，退潮时宽达1公里以上。这些泥滩养育着数量惊人的无脊椎动物，每年夏天，它们都成为数百万迁徙的滨鸟的重要觅食地。 我们的研究计划致力于了解盐沼和泥滩生态系统的结构和内部运作。作为一个长期的研究策略，我们的方法是进行一系列精心策划的研究，每个研究旨在解决一个特定的问题，将启发我们的整体理解。有了这笔赠款的支持，我们将开展具体的研究，重点是泥滩的社区生态，盐沼的营养生态，以及两个相邻生态系统之间存在的生态联系。种群、群落和生态系统之间的联系会影响种群的持久性和物种的共存，并可能导致区域尺度上的动态，而这些动态是当地尺度上的动态所无法预测的。 我们的研究的一个一般特点是，我们的特点的人口和社区动态的动物和植物物种生活在两个地区，经历非常不同的潮汐环境。诺森伯兰海峡只遇到小潮汐，海水清澈，水温季节性变化强烈，而芬迪湾则受到巨大潮汐的影响，海水浑浊，全年水温变化小得多。在地理上接近的位置，这样的独特的网站的比较是一个强大的研究策略，确定生态机制和解释观察到的模式。研究不同的潮汐环境也将提高我们对软沉积物海岸线如何受到海平面或潮汐幅度变化影响的理解。由于建议的研究会在全年进行，我们亦会评估冬季干扰对生态模式和过程的影响。冬季的影响可能是巨大的，但在北温带沿着的研究有限。

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.