Electroreception in Aquatic Invertebrates

电接收是一些动物在自然环境中探测到极微小电场的一种特殊感官能力。它是在不到40年前在水生脊椎动物中发现的，自那以后，这种特殊的感觉在哺乳动物身上被发现。然而，它从未在任何无脊椎动物身上发现。该项目使用生理和行为技术来设计测试甲壳类动物是否具有电感官能力。SGER是这一独特机会的合适机制，因为实验简单而直接，虽然PI可能找不到电接收的风险是概念性的，但这一发现的潜在影响非常高。这一发现不仅将为感官科学开辟一个全新的领域，而且还将为神经科学、进化生物学以及潜在的生物工程提供新的概念和方法，这一发现将具有直接的重要意义。

Electroreception is a special sensory ability of some animals to detect extremely small electrical fields in the natural environment. It was discovered in aquatic vertebrates less than 40 years ago, and this special sense has since been discovered in mammals. However, it has never been found in any invertebrate. This project uses physiological and behavioral techniques to design tests for the presence of electrosensory capabilities in crustaceans. The SGER is an appropriate mechanism for this unique opportunity because the experiments are brief and straightforward, and while the risk is conceptual that the PI's might not find electroreception, the potential impact of the discovery is very high. Such a discovery would have immediate importance not only in opening an entirely new field for sensory science, but also in offering new concepts and approaches for neuroscience in general, for evolutionary biology and potentially for bioengineering.