THE DRIVE TO SURVIVE: COPEPODS vs ICHTHYOPLANKTON

本研究将通过实验阐明不同物种和不同生命阶段桡足类对一种模式稚鱼捕食者的逃避动力学。pi将使用标准的高速摄像和尖端的全息技术。浮游生物群落中捕食者-猎物的相互作用是理解复杂的海洋食物网中能量如何转移的关键。特别令人感兴趣的是数量众多的桡足类动物和它们更重要的捕食者之一——浮游鱼（鱼类的浮游幼虫阶段）之间的关系。大多数鱼类的幼虫以浮游生物为食，严重依赖桡足类动物作为食物。一般来说，桡足类动物的逃避成功率随着年龄的增长而增加，而随着捕食鱼的年龄的增长而降低。这些细节如何发挥作用对于决定掠食性攻击的结果以及它们对捕食者和猎物生存的影响至关重要。为了解决这一问题，我们将在不同的发展阶段对不同水平的捕食者能力进行测试，并对结果进行检验：1)捕食者和猎物年龄等级的不同组合的攻击成功或失败；2)不同年龄类桡足动物成功和失败逃跑的运动学（反应潜伏期和轨迹方向）；3)捕食者不同年龄、不同攻击策略产生的水动力线索及不同阶段被捕食者对这些线索的敏感性；4)在每个猎物阶段，掠食性方法和攻击策略的成败。获得的数据将用于浮游动物种群动态的关键问题。对猎物来说，这些指标包括：捕食者躲避能力和发现能力的重要性、反应速度、逃跑速度、逃跑方向和轨迹不规则性；对于捕食者来说，它们是：嘴巴大小的能力和重要性，潜行性，流体动力干扰的产生和冲进运动学。该项目的更广泛影响将是：1)提高对捕食者-猎物动态的科学认识，因为它们影响着世界渔业；2)对本科生（包括代表性不足的群体）进行研究培训（夏威夷大学马诺阿分校是一所为少数族裔服务的机构，而P.I.是夏威夷大学少数族裔研究项目的联合主任，该项目为合格的本科生提供现成的机会）；3)培训本科生和研究生开展拓展活动，教育K-12岁儿童了解海洋系统内的生物多样性、神经系统在动物行为中的作用以及研究中的科学方法；4)一个以技术为导向的推广和本科教育项目，重点是吸引高中和早期本科生欣赏慢动作（高速视频）技术所揭示的动物行为的奇迹。

This study will experimentally elucidate the dynamics of predator evasion by different species and life stages of copepod responding to a model larval fish predator. The PIs will use standard and high-speed videographic and cutting-edge holographic techniques. Predator-prey interactions within planktonic communities are key to understanding how energy is transferred within complex marine food webs. Of particular interest are those between the highly numerous copepods and one of their more important predators, the ichthyoplankton (the planktonic larval stages of fishes). The larvae of most fishes are planktivorous and heavily dependent on copepods for food. In general, evasion success increases with age in copepods and decreases with the age of the fish predator. How this plays out in detail is critical in determining predatory attack outcomes and the effect these have on predator and prey survival. To address this problem, different copepod developmental stages will be tested against several levels of predator competence, and the results examined for: 1) the success or failure of attacks for different combinations of predator and prey age class; 2) the kinematics (reaction latencies and trajectory orientation) for escape attempts, successful and unsuccessful, for different age classes of copepod; 3) the hydrodynamic cues generated by different ages and attack strategies of the predator and the sensitivity of different prey stages to these cues; and 4) the success or failure of the predatory approach and attack strategies at each prey stage. The data obtained will be used to inform key issues of zooplankton population dynamics. For the prey these include: predator-evasion capabilities and importance of detection ability, reaction speed, escape speed, escape orientation, and trajectory irregularity; for the predator they are: capabilities and importance of mouth gape size, stealthiness, hydrodynamic disturbance production, and lunge kinematics. The broader impacts of this project will be 1) improved scientific insight into predator-prey dynamics as they affect the world's fisheries; 2) training of undergraduates, including underrepresented groups, in research (the University of Hawaii at Manoa is a minority-serving institution, and the P.I. is co-director of the UH Minority Access to Research Program, which provides ready access to qualified undergraduates); 3) training undergraduates and graduate students in outreach activities that educate K-12 age children in biodiversity within marine systems, the role of nervous systems in animal behavior, and the scientific method in their study; 4) a technology-oriented outreach and undergraduate education project focused on drawing high-school and early undergraduates into the appreciation of the wonders of animal behavior as revealed by slow-motion (high-speed video) techniques.