Chemical Basis for Prey Selection in Pelagic Cnidarians: ROW Career Advancement Award

海洋动物中一个重要的生态群体是水母，或蛇形目动物。它们构成了生活在海洋表面附近的漂流动物的主要部分，不同的物种表现出不同的捕食动物选择。只有当猎物与水母接触时，水母才会使用触角上的刺细胞(寄生细胞)捕获猎物。因此，观察到的选择性捕食鱼类或甲壳类动物需要一些感官机制，让水母区分猎物。这项研究将使用现代神经生理学技术对毒刺细胞进行膜片钳技术，并解决是否存在对毒刺释放的化学感觉调节这一重要问题。这项职业进步奖的影响将显著提高詹妮弗·珀塞尔博士的职业能力，其结果将对化学传感科学、动物行为、神经生物学和海洋生物学具有重要意义。

A major ecologically important group of marine animals are the jellyfish, or cnidarians. They form a major part of the drifting animals living near the ocean surface, and different species show different selection of prey animals on which they feed. Jellyfish capture their prey animals by using the stinging cells (cnidocytes) in the tentacles only when the prey comes into contact with the jellyfish. So the observed selective feeding on either fish or crustaceans requires some sensory mechanism for the jellyfish to distinguish prey. This study will use modern neurophysiological techniques of patch-clamping on the stinging cells, and address the important question of whether there is some chemosensory regulation of release of the stingers. The impact of this Career Advancement Award will enhance Dr. Jennifer Purcell's career capability significantly, and results will be important to chemosensory science, animal behavior, neurobiology, and marine biology.