Behavior of Individual Plankton Copepods: Ecological Significance of Perception and Response of Predators and Prey Organisms

本研究的长期目标是确定、描述和量化控制海洋浮游动物丰度、组成和分布的关键过程。主要的假设是，信号感知和对信号的反应能力，决定了捕食者是否捕获猎物，或者猎物是否从捕食者手中逃脱。这项工作的目标是由正在进行的关于猎物和捕食者行为的研究引发的。除了物种之间的主要差异外，还观察到物种内部从小到大的差异。单靠行为观察似乎不足以理解一个阶段的能力范围。本研究将确定四种海洋浮游桡足类动物（nauplii、早期桡足类和成年雌性）头附肢上化学和机械传感器的丰度和分布，以及传感器类型的个体发生变化。研究所得的数据将进一步了解海洋浮游生物捕食/被捕食反应的生态意义。* * *

9319226 Paffenhofer The long-term goal of this research is to identify, describe and quantify key processes which govern the abundance, composition and distribution of zooplankton in the ocean. The main hypothesis is that both signal perception, and the ability to respond to signals, determine if a predator captures prey, of if the prey escapes from the predator. The objectives of this work were triggered by ongoing studies on prey and predator behavior. Aside from major differences between species, a range from small to major differences within species were observed. Behavior observations alone appear to be insufficient to comprehend a stage's range of capabilities. This work will determine the abundance and distribution of chemo- and mechanosensors on the cephalic appendages of nauplii, early copepodid stages, and adult females of four species of marine planktonic copepods: and ontogenetic changes in sensor types. Data obtained in the study will further knowledge on the ecological significance of predator/prey responses in marine plankton. ***