The ocean is the largest ecosystem on Earth and yet we know very little about it. This is particularly true for the plankton that drift within. Although these organisms are at least as important for the Earth system as the forests on land, most of them are invisible to the naked eye and thus are largely uncharacterized, even though they form the base of marine food webs. To increase our understanding of this underexplored world, a multidisciplinary consortium, Tara Oceans, was formed around the 110-ft research schooner Tara, which sampled plankton at more than 210 sites and multipledepth layers in all the major oceanic regions during expeditions from 2009-2013 (Karsenti et al. Plos Biol., 2011). The seminar will describe the first foundational resources from the project (based on a first data freeze from 579 samples at 75 stations; seeScience special issue May 22, 2015) and their initial analyses, illustrating several aspects of the TaraOceans’ eco-systems biology approach. The project provides unique resources for several scientific disciplines, capturing biodiversity of a wide range of organisms that are rarely studied together, exploring interactions between them and integrating them with environmental conditions to further our understanding of life in the ocean and beyond in the context of ongoing climate changes.
More information about Chris Bowler:http://www.ibens.ens.fr/spip.php?rubrique36
Tara探险是法国的一个非赢利性组织，于2003年成立，总部设在巴黎。Tara是为在极端条件下进行海洋科考而建设的船只，目的是唤起公众注意，进行人类新探索。全球科学实验室和研究所均可申请参与Tara科考行动，目前已经有全球超过500名科学家参加过Tara考察项目。Tara已经开展了北冰洋科考（2006-2008）、Tara海洋科考（2009-2012）和Tara海洋极地圈科考（2013）三大项目，主要研究气候和海洋多样性。
此次来访的Chris Bowler教授是Scientific Director of Tara Oceans Polar Circle。Bowler教授讲座之后，将与我方就科考合作进行讨论，欢迎各位老师参加。
时间：12日下午4：00
地点：周隆泉楼B3-204
