Japan STA Program: The Behavioral Ecology of the Mid-water Community of the Kuroshio Current

9512769 Hunt该奖项支持日本科学技术厅为蒙特利湾水族馆研究所James C.Hunt博士在日本横须贺的日本海洋科学技术中心提供的24个月的博士后奖学金。亨特博士将与JAMSTEC的桥本俊博士合作开展一个名为“黑潮中水社区的行为生态学”的项目。拟议的研究将通过使用深海潜水器来审查鱿鱼在中水社区中的作用。这些鱿鱼在商业和生物学上都很重要。通过将现场观察与实验室实验相结合，他将考虑几个特定的假设，这些假设将分布模式和摄食行为与从声纳设备获得的信息联系起来。研究结果将有助于人们了解中水食物网，了解随着环境条件的变化，这一网可能会发生怎样的变化，以及如何准确评估和管理海洋资源。拟议的研究涉及生物海洋学领域当前和重要的主题，JAMSTEC将向申请者提供一些世界上最先进的载人潜水系统和机器人潜水系统。申请者将开创潜水设备用于中水生物研究的重大探索性用途。申请者和东道主科学家都详细讨论了这个项目，他们提供了可信和可验证的假设，这项研究很可能会产生对美国和日本都有利的积极结果。***

9512769 Hunt This award supports a 24 month Science and Technology Agency of Japan (STA) Postdoctoral Fellowship for Dr. James C. Hunt, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, at the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center (JAMSTEC), Yokosuka, Japan. Dr. Hunt will work with Dr. Jun Hashimoto at JAMSTEC in a project entitled, "The Behavioral Ecology of the Mid- Water Community of the Kuroshio Current." The proposed research will examine the role of squids within the mid-water community through the use of deep-sea submersibles. These squids are important commercially and biologically. By combining in situ observations with laboratory experiments, he will consider several specific hypotheses relating distribution patterns and feeding behaviors to information acquired from sonar equipment. The result will provide an understanding of the mid-water food web, how this web might change as environmental conditions change, and how to accurately assess and manage marine resources. The proposed research addresses topics that are both current and important in the field of biological oceanography and JAMSTEC will provide the applicant with some of the most advanced crewed and robotic submersible systems available in the world. The applicant will pioneer significant exploratory use of the diving equipment for midwater biological research. Both applicant and host scientist have discussed the project in detail, they have provided plausible and testable hypotheses, and it is likely the research will yield positive and mutually beneficial results for both the United States and Japan. ***