Collaborative Research: The Role of Larval Orientation Behavior In Determining Population Connectivity

了解幼鱼离开父母的距离是海洋生态学的一个主要目标，因为这种扩散可以在不同的种群之间建立联系，从而影响种群规模和动态。反过来，了解种群动态的驱动因素对于有效的渔业管理至关重要。海洋生态学家使用了两种不同的方法来了解鱼类种群是如何联系在一起的：测量连接性的遗传学方法和预测连接性的海洋模型。然而，海洋模型的预测与遗传学方法的观测结果之间存在不匹配。据认为，这种不匹配是由幼鱼或幼鱼的行为造成的。这项研究的目的是研究野生幼鱼在整个发育过程中和在各种环境条件下的定向能力，以确定是否可以解决种群连接的观测和预测之间的差距。该项目将在三个关键领域产生更广泛的影响：通过培训多层次的青年科学家将研究和教学结合起来；扩大来自代表性不足群体的本科生的参与；通过开发一个以英语和西班牙语提供信息和资源的网站广泛传播结果。研究的总体目标是调查整个个体发育过程中幼虫定向行为在确定种群连通性方面的作用。这将使用霓虹虎鱼Elacatinus Lori作为伯利兹的一个模型系统来完成。选择研究系统的动机是，已经使用直接遗传方法描述了该物种的完整扩散核，这些观察表明，扩散的范围没有高分辨率生物物理模型预测的那么广泛；E.Lori可以在实验室从孵化到定居饲养，为拟议的实验提供所有年龄的幼虫的可靠来源；以及一个新的、经过验证的行为观察平台，即漂移原位小室(DISC)，可以测量幼虫在开放水域的定向行为。该项目有三个具体目标：通过将幼虫取向行为与发育感觉解剖学联系起来，了解幼虫取向能力的个体发育变化；通过个体发育分析不同环境背景下幼虫取向精度的变化；以及测试幼虫取向行为目标的替代假设，即确定幼虫在发育过程中的走向。

Understanding how far young fish move away from their parents is a major goal of marine ecology because this dispersal can make connections between distinct populations and thus influence population size and dynamics. Understanding the drivers of population dynamics is, in turn, essential for effective fisheries management. Marine ecologists have used two different approaches to understand how fish populations are connected: genetic methods that measure connectivity and oceanographic models that predict connectivity. There is, however, a mismatch between the predictions of oceanographic models and the observations of genetic methods. It is thought that this mismatch is caused by the behavior of the young, or larval, fish. The objective of this research is to study the orientation capabilities of larval fish in the wild throughout development and under a variety of environmental conditions to see if the gap between observations and predictions of population connectivity can be resolved. The project will have broader impacts in three key areas: integration of research and teaching by training young scientists at multiple levels; broadening participation of undergraduates from underrepresented groups; and wide dissemination of results through development of a website with information and resources in English and Spanish.The overall objective of the research is to investigate the role of larval orientation behavior throughout ontogeny in determining population connectivity. This will be done using the neon goby, Elacatinus lori, as a model system in Belize. The choice of study system is motivated by the fact that direct genetic methods have already been used to describe the complete dispersal kernel for this species, and these observations indicate that dispersal is less extensive than predicted by a high-resolution biophysical model; E. lori can be reared in the lab from hatching to settlement providing a reliable source of larvae of all ages for proposed experiments; and a new, proven behavioral observation platform, the Drifting In Situ Chamber (DISC), allows measurements of larval orientation behavior in open water. The project has three specific objectives: to understand ontogenetic changes in larval orientation capabilities by correlating larval orientation behavior with developmental sensory anatomy; to analyze variation in the precision of larval orientation in different environmental contexts through ontogeny; and to test alternative hypotheses for the goal of larval orientation behavior, i.e., to determine where larvae are heading as they develop.