Collaborative Proposal: The Relation of Behavior of Copepod Juveniles to Potential Predation by Omnivorous Copepods

在浮游桡足动物的生命周期中，捕食的影响在早期的无足动物阶段尤为明显。主要的捕食者是杂食性桡足类。导致这种捕食的过程已经被评估过，但很少被证明。这些过程包括猎物和捕食者附近的流体动力学，两者对流体动力学信号的识别，攻击和/或逃跑的各自反应，以及最终的结果。本研究的目的是确定各种可能导致杂食性桡足类捕食不同丰富种类的浮游桡足类的nauplii的机制，以及其中一种浮游桡足类的早期阶段。我们的假设是，捕食率是幼鱼的运动和感知行为以及捕食者的感知和捕捉能力的函数。我们将通过结合模型研究和经验观察来确定这些机制。已发表的、未发表的和新获得的桡足类运动的经验结果将用于开发自由？游动的猎物和捕食者互相靠近和相遇。将使用相同的经验数据来验证建模结果。建模结果将提出新的、额外的实证工作。我们认为，将模型与实证研究相结合，将有希望揭示导致捕食的机制，以及与猎物和捕食者的行为有关的机制。所提出的研究的生态学意义与桡足类幼鱼的原位死亡有关。由于死亡率这一变量通常不可能就地量化，我们提出的研究可以被视为一种尝试，利用小尺度的结果来理解更大的图景，即海洋中行为与死亡率的关系。知识价值。将这种类型的行为观察与提出的水动力模型相结合的想法是原创的。模特关注的是自我？与之前研究中使用的非游动粒子相比，被推进的体。经验努力为建模提供了初始信息，例如不同猎物和捕食者的各种行为；后来被用来验证它。预期的结果将提供不同桡足类物种早期幼体的比较能力的见解，以减少co .的捕食。杂食性的发生的杂食性物种，包括它们自己的物种更广泛的影响。我们将提供我们的经验？建模研究详细的信息，本科生和研究生在生态研究所和海洋科学学院，佐治亚大学，强调跨学科研究在生态研究的重要性。我们每年将招收至少2名本科生与我们密切合作。这些本科生每年将接受至少3个月的桡足动物过程研究培训，以及高级小型动物培训。流体动力学的比例建模。本研究的意义在于对成年杂食性桡足类捕食早期桡足幼体的概率有一个大致的认识。

During a planktonic copepod's life cycle the effects of predation can be particularly pronounced during the early naupliar stages. Among the major predators are omnivorous copepods. The processes leading to such predation have been evaluated but rarely demonstrated. These processes include fluid dynamics near both prey and predator, recognition of hydrodynamic signals by both, and the respective responses with either attack and/or escape, and the eventual outcome.The objective of this research project is to determine the various mechanisms that can lead to predation by omnivorous copepods on nauplii of different abundant species of planktonic copepods, and on an early copepod stage of one of those species. Our hypothesis is that predation rates are a function of a juvenile's motion and perception behavior, and the predator's perceptive and capture capabilities. We will determine these mechanisms by combining modeling studies with empirical observations. Published, unpublished, and newly obtained empirical results on copepod motion will be used to develop fluid dynamics models of free?swimming prey and predators as they approach and encounter each other. The same empirical data will be used to verify the modeling results. The modeling results will suggest new, additional empirical work. We feel that coupling modeling with empirical studies presents a promising opportunity to unravel the mechanisms leading to predation, in relation to the behavior of prey and predator. The ecological significance of the proposed studies is related to in situ mortality of copepod juveniles. Since this variable, mortality, is usually impossible to quantify in situ, our proposed research can be seen as an attempt to use results at small scales towards an understanding of a bigger picture i.e. the relation of behavior to mortality in the ocean.Intellectual Merit. The idea of combining this type of behavioral observations with the proposed hydrodynamic modeling is original. The modeling focuses on a self?propelled body, as compared to nonswimming particles used in previous studies. The empirical effort provides initial information for modeling, such as the various behaviors of the different prey and of the predator; and is later used to verify it. The expected results will provide insights on the comparative ability of early juveniles of different copepod species to minimize predation by co?occurring omnivorous species, including their own species.Broader Impact. We will provide with our empirical?modeling studies detailed information to undergraduate and graduate students at the Institute of Ecology and the School of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, emphasizing the significance of interdisciplinary research in ecological studies. We will recruit at least 2 undergraduate students each year to cooperate closely with us. These undergraduate students will be trained for at least 3 months per year in copepod process studies, and advanced small?scale modeling of fluid dynamics.The significance of the proposed research is to develop a general understanding of the probability of predation on early copepod juveniles by adult omnivorous copepods.