OCE-PRF: Resource-risk trade-offs and habitat use by an important forage species, Neomysis americana: the role of turbidity

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In this project, the investigator will assess the abundance and distribution drivers of Neomysis americana which is a critically important species in the Gulf of Maine food web. Mysid shrimp play a critical role in marine food webs by serving as prey for many fish species. Furthermore, they function to link the flow of energy and nutrients between habitats through vertical and horizontal migrations. Neomysis americana is the most dominant mysid in the Gulf of Maine; however, drivers of abundance and distribution are unknown. There are consistent observations of high abundances of N. americana in areas of high turbidity. This correlation could be due to an abundance of copepod resources and (or) a refuge from visual predators, specifically alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus). This research project combines field surveys, mesocosm experiments and behavioral experiments to shed light on proximate and ultimate consequences of turbidity as a habitat variable for N. americana under contexts of resources and risk. Data describing the abundance and behavior of Neomysis americana will fill a critical gap in the knowledge of coastal ecosystem dynamics in the Gulf of Maine and will facilitate comparisons with ecosystems in which mysid-alewife interactions are well studied. Turbidity as a driver of habitat choice has been hypothesized but never explicitly tested. In the behavioral experiments, the investigator will determine whether Neomysis americana detects and responds to turbidity in a context of risk and resource gradients. Data concerning the effects of turbidity on coastal ecosystems are timely due to the locally increasing and seasonally shifting turbidity generated from coastal runoff and climate change.The broader impacts of the project include broadening participation of Native American youth through activities engaging the Boys and Girls Club of Penobscot Bay; recruitment and training for an undergraduate student from the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences; curriculum development for the Coastal Studies for Girls program; and collaboration with the Downeast Initiative, an organization comprised of fisherman, government representatives and community members. This project is supported under the NSF Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (OCE PRF) program, with goals to support novel research by early career scientists and increase the diversity of the U.S. ocean sciences workforce and research community. With OCE-PRF support, this project will enable a promising early career researcher to establish themselves in an independent research career related to ocean sciences and broaden participation of under-represented groups in the ocean sciences.