SGER: Assessing Patchiness of Aquatic Organisms with Remotely Operated Vehicles

自然种群的斑块对生态学理论的许多方面都具有重要意义。在水生环境中，与陆地环境相比，缺乏植被结构和低能见度，再加上持续的混合过程，使得评估斑块的大小、结构和功能变得特别困难。然而，自上而下控制水生群落的重要性表明，捕食者和猎物种群的时空分布可能是群落动态的主要调节因素。遥控运载器(ROV)和视频成像技术的最新发展为在比传统采样方法所能获得的更精细的尺度上解决浮游生物和鱼类种群的时空斑块提供了可能。SGER项目的主要目标是应用ROV和视频成像技术的最新进展，量化无脊椎动物和脊椎动物捕食者及其猎物在不同营养状况的湖泊中的分布和丰度。作为多机构波科诺比较湖计划的一部分，该项目将在高度互动的研究和教育环境中进行，使学生和研究人员最大限度地接触到这些新技术。在对水下机器人进行测试后，将举办研讨会/研讨会，促进关于水下机器人和视频采样的信息的传递

The patchiness of natural populations is of fundamental importance to many aspects of ecological theory. In aquatic environments the lack of vegetational structure and low visibility compared to terrestrial environments combine with continuous mixing processes to make assessment of patch size, structure, and function particularly difficult. Yet the importance of top-down control of aquatic communities suggests that the spatial and temporal distribution of predator and prey populations may be a primary regulator in community dynamics. Recent developments in remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and video imaging technologies provide the potential to resolve spatial and temporal patchiness of plankton and fish populations on much finer scales than could ever be obtained with traditional sampling methods. The primary objectives of the SGER project is to apply recent advances in ROV and video imaging technologies to quantify the distribution and abundance of invertebrate and vertebrate predators and their prey in lakes of different trophic status. As part of the multiinstitutional Pocono Comparative Lakes Program, the project will be carried out in a highly interactive research and educational environment that maximizes the exposure of students and investigators to these new technologies. Transfer of information on ROV and video sampling will be facilitated by a symposium/workshop to be conducted after testing the ROV