ABR-Quantitative Aspects of Prey Chemical Defenses

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This project will extend the PI's current investigations on chemical mediation of seaweed-herbivore and invertebrate-predator interactions to include: (1) complex interactions of prey nutritional value with chemical and structural prey defenses, (2) an understanding of how larval and spore defenses differ from those of the adult, and why (exposure to different consumers?, increased exposure to UV without adult structures that provide shade?, etc.), and (3) the role of learned aversion by vertebrate versus invertebrate consumers in affecting both prey and consumer dynamics. Because benthic seaweeds and invertebrates play a trophically and ecologically important role in near-shore communities and are rich sources of novel secondary metabolites that function as defenses against consumers and have potential applications as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and growth regulating substances, understanding how these organisms respond chemically to ecological and environmental threats can provide fundamental information about how marine systems function, and can suggest strategies for applied uses of marine natural products.