Limits to Substrate Choice by Larvae of Infaunal Polychaetesand Bivalves in Still Water and Flume Flows

这项工作将侧重于确定生活在泥泞的河口沉积物中的无脊椎动物--特别是多毛类和文蛤--对沉积物选择的生物和水动力限制。我们对无脊椎动物幼虫在定居和蜕变过程中受到影响的方式的理解，现在揭示了身体力量对招募到成年种群的能力的重要性。谢丽尔·安·巴特曼博士将与朱迪思·格拉斯尔博士合作，确定幼虫选择定居地点的物理和生物限制。这将为无脊椎动物幼虫类型的适应意义以及幼虫对自然环境的扰动做出反应的能力提供预测性的见解。丰富的具有商业价值的无脊椎动物物种(如文蛤、牡蛎和扇贝)以及对自然和养殖种群不断增加的影响，将使这项关于招募的基础研究适时进行。

This work will focus on defining the biological and hydrodynamical constraints to sediment selection by invertebrate animals living in muddy, estuarine sediments -- specifically polychaetes and clams. Our understanding of the way in which invertebrate larvae are affected during the settlement and metamorphosis process now reveals the importance of physical forces on the ability to recruit to adult populations. Dr. Cheryl Ann Butman, in collaboration with Dr. Judith Grassle, will define the physical and biological limits on the ability of the larvae to select settlement sites. This will provide predictive insights into the adaptive significance of invertebrate larval types and the ability of larvae to respond to perturbations to there natural environments. The wealth of invertebrate species of commercial importance (e.g., clams, oysters and scallops) and the ever-increasing impacts upon both natural and cultured populations will make this fundamental research on recruitment timely.