Collaborative Research: BCSP: BIOMAPS: The Hydrodynamics of Predator Sensing and Escape in Zebrafish

捕食是生物之间的基本相互作用，它塑造了群落结构，并对适应性有直接影响。该奖项将支持对决定猎物生存的感觉和运动系统的研究。这将通过实验和感官线索的数学模型以及猎物的“快速启动”逃脱机动来实现。该研究将(1)揭示控制被捕食鱼的感觉和运动系统的动力学，(2)建立斑马鱼作为捕食者-猎物相互作用的模型，以及(3)加强计算和实验方法在有机体研究中的整合。本研究将以斑马鱼（Danio rerio）幼体为研究对象，分三个方面进行研究。触发和指导快速启动的流刺激将通过用机器人捕食者复制捕食者的方法进行实验研究。通过在3D中测量幼虫的逃生反应，并对推进的流体动力学进行计算建模，可以分析推进如何指导快速启动的逃生机动。流量传感和快速启动反应的有效性将通过记录捕食者和猎物相互作用时的三维运动以及在这些条件下猎物的感觉和运动系统建模来解决。除了实验数据，研究人员还将通过以下方式推进生物生物学家的定量工具：(1)开发Matlab生物计算机编程在线课程，(2)培训研究生计算建模，(3)参与招募少数民族本科生研究人员的计划，以及(4)开发用于动物运动分析和建模的分析工具。这些研究的结果将发表在同行评议的期刊上，并通过联机数据库（例如http://datadryad.org/）分享。

Predation is a fundamental interaction between organisms that shapes community structure and has a direct effect on fitness. This award will support studies on the sensory and motor systems that determine a prey fish's survival. This will be achieved through experimentation and mathematical models of sensory cues and the 'fast start' escape maneuver of prey. The proposed research will (1) reveal the dynamics that govern the sensory and motor systems of prey fish, (2) establish zebrafish as a model for predator-prey interactions, and (3) enhance integration of computational and experimental approaches in organismal research.This work will focus on larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) in three lines of investigation. The flow stimuli that trigger and direct the fast start will be studied experimentally by replicating a predator's approach with a robotic predator. Analysis of how propulsion directs a fast-start escape maneuver will be achieved by measuring the escape responses of larvae in 3D and computationally modeling the hydrodynamics of propulsion. The efficacy of flow sensing and fast start responses will be addressed by recording the three-dimensional motion of predators and prey as they interact and by modeling the sensory and motor systems of the prey under these conditions. In addition to data from experiments, the investigators will advance the quantitative tools of organismal biologists by (1) developing an on-line course in biological computer programming in Matlab, (2) training graduate students in computational modeling, (3) participating in programs that recruit minority undergraduate researchers, and (4) developing analytical tools for the analysis and modeling of animal motion. Results from the studies will be published in peer-reviewed journals and shared through on-line data repositories (e.g., http://datadryad.org/).