Zooplankton Capture by Corals: Effects of Water Movement and Prey Escape

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Information on water flow in coral reef environments has generally been done to quantify mass transport across reefs or to identify important processes generating nutrient flux from reefs. This project will investigate the effects of water flow on several aspects of the feeding biology of corals. Field measurements of feeding rates on four species of corals will be made with prey sampling by an automated pump/sampler and field flume that allows concurrent measurements of water flow and prey availability. Feeding experiments will be manipulated by varying flow rate, prey type, and food availability and will be conducted over several days with different flow conditions. Capture events and prey type, and food availability and will be conducted over several days with different flow conditions. Capture events and prey escape behavior will be filmed using underwater video. Another important aspect of feeding biology in coral reefs is the small scale water flow around corals in the field. This will be accomplished with three self- contained underwater thermistors flowmeters with 2 mm spatial resolution, based on the design of LaBarber and Vogel (1976). The data collected will be used to characterize the general flow regime at the site, providing new information about the flow environment of coral reefs in Jamaica and other sites in the Caribbean.