CAREER: Insect Flight in Turbulent Environments

该项目的目标是研究自然湍流气流如何影响昆虫的飞行稳定性，并确定昆虫如何应对这一挑战。湍流气流，包括不可预测的阵风和漩涡，几乎在所有的自然栖息地都能找到。然而，湍流对动物飞行的影响程度仍然未知，因为大多数飞行研究都是在实验室环境中进行的，具有平滑、简化的气流，而且我们对与飞行动物相关的尺度上的环境湍流特征知之甚少。该项目将通过(1)量化飞行昆虫所遇到的自然空中环境并在风洞中模拟它们来解决这些悬而未决的问题，(2)评估湍流对两种广泛传播的昆虫传粉媒介——大黄蜂和无人机的飞行稳定性的影响，以及(3)研究昆虫的身体形态和/或行为如何有助于提高不可预测的空中环境中的飞行稳定性。本项目的飞行研究重点是昆虫传粉者，因为这些传粉者通常通过各种栖息地进行长距离旅行，为植物、生态系统和全球食物供应提供基本服务。这项创新研究将为未来研究栖息地改变和气候变化如何通过诱导空中环境变化影响传粉者和其他飞行动物的运动模式和效率奠定基础。此外，该项目可以通过确定提高飞行稳定性的新方法，为微型飞行器（MAVs）的设计提供灵感。这项研究本质上是多学科的，因为动物的运动取决于其生物学的许多方面（从细胞和组织到行为和生态），并由与外部环境的物理相互作用介导。由于这些跨学科的联系和生物运动的有形、视觉上的吸引力，这门学科形成了一个理想的平台，吸引非科学专业的学生和普通公众参与生物学、物理学和工程学，并灌输对科学研究的兴奋感。为了利用这一独特的机会，本提案的教育目标是：(1)开发一门以生物学运动为中心的通识教育课程，(2)扩展和改进哈佛大学康科德野外站的外展项目，让K-12学生和公众第一手接触到综合的、引人注目的科学研究。通过这些教育努力，该项目将向所有年龄段的学生以及公众展示集生物学、物理学和工程学于一体的科学研究，这是切实的、令人兴奋的和令人难忘的。

The goal of this project is to investigate how natural, turbulent airflow affects insect flight stability, and to determine how insects deal with this challenge. Turbulent airflow, which includes unpredictable wind gusts and swirling vortices, is found in nearly all natural habitats. However, the extent to which turbulence affects animal flight remains unknown, because most studies of flight are performed in lab settings with smooth, simplified airflow, and because we know very little about the characteristics of environmental turbulence at size scales relevant to flying animals. This project will address these unanswered questions by (1) quantifying the natural aerial environments that flying insects encounter and simulating them in a wind tunnel, (2) assessing the effects of turbulent flow on flight stability in two widespread insect pollinators, bumblebees and droneflies, and (3) investigating how insect body form and/or behaviors may help enhance flight stability in unpredictable aerial environments. The flight studies in this project focus on insect pollinators, as these typically travel long distances through a variety of habitats, performing essential services upon which plants, ecosystems, and the global food supply ultimately depend. The innovative research proposed will form the foundation for future studies examining how habitat alteration and climate change may affect the movement patterns and efficiency of pollinators and other flying animals by inducing changes in the aerial environment. In addition, this project may provide inspiration for the design of micro air vehicles (MAVs) by identifying novel methods of enhancing flight stability. This research is inherently multi-disciplinary, as an animal's movements depend on numerous aspects of its biology (from cells and tissues to behavior and ecology), and are mediated by physical interactions with the external environment. Due to these cross-disciplinary connections and the tangible, visually appealing nature of biological motions, this subject forms an ideal platform for engaging non-science majors and the general public in biology, physics and engineering, and for instilling a sense of excitement about scientific research. To take advantage of this unique opportunity, the educational objectives of this proposal are to (1) develop a general education course centered around movement in biology, and (2) expand and improve the Concord Field Station outreach program at Harvard University to expose K-12 students and the public first-hand to integrative, compelling scientific research. Through these educational efforts, this project will expose students of all ages as well as the general public to scientific research that integrates biology, physics & engineering, and that is tangible, exciting and memorable.