THE DRIVE TO SURVIVE: COPEPODS vs ICHTHYOPLANKTON

本研究将借由实验来阐明不同种类及不同生命阶段桡足类对一种模式鱼幼鱼捕食者的逃避动态。 PI将使用标准和高速视频和尖端全息技术。捕食者-猎物之间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大量桡足类和它们更重要的捕食者之一，鱼类浮游生物（鱼类的浮游幼虫阶段）之间的关系。大多数鱼类的幼虫是反食性的，严重依赖桡足类的食物。在一般情况下，逃避成功的桡足类随着年龄的增加和减少的鱼捕食者的年龄。这一过程的细节对于确定捕食性攻击的结果以及这些结果对捕食者和猎物生存的影响至关重要。为了解决这一问题，不同的桡足类发育阶段将测试对几个水平的捕食者的能力和结果检查：1）成功或失败的攻击不同组合的捕食者和猎物的年龄组; 2）运动学（反应潜伏期和轨迹定向）的逃逸尝试，成功和失败，为不同年龄组的桡足类; 3）捕食者不同年龄和攻击策略产生的水动力学线索以及不同猎物阶段对这些线索的敏感性; 4）捕食接近和攻击策略在各个猎物阶段的成败。所获得的数据将用于为浮游动物种群动态的关键问题提供信息。 对于猎物，这些包括：捕食者逃避能力和重要性的检测能力，反应速度，逃跑速度，逃跑方向，和轨迹的不规则性;捕食者，他们是：能力和重要性的张口大小，隐身，水动力干扰的生产，和弓步运动学。该项目的更广泛影响将是：1）提高对影响世界渔业的捕食者-被捕食者动态的科学认识; 2）在研究方面培训大学生，包括代表性不足的群体（马诺阿的夏威夷大学是一个为少数群体服务的机构，P.I.是UH少数民族访问研究计划，它提供了现成的访问合格的本科生）的共同主任; 3）培训本科生和研究生的外展活动，教育K-12年龄的儿童在海洋系统内的生物多样性，神经系统在动物行为中的作用，并在他们的研究科学方法; 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的本科生欣赏慢动作（高速视频）技术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.