RII Track-4: Enhancing Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies and Research Funding Opportunities in Sensory Neurobiology through Studies of Crustacean Vision

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Non-Technical Description Comparing the development of distinct types of animal eyes provides a remarkable 'natural laboratory' for understanding how visual systems work, and how animals use visual information to interact with each other and with their environment.  This research will study the function of two crustacean species, the mantis shrimp and a copepod, which have vastly different eyes than most other animals. This fellowship will take place in the School of Marine Science and Policy at the University of Delaware, working with an internationally recognized researcher in crustacean visual physiology and behavior. The fellowship will provide training to the PI and a graduate student in techniques that measure changes in electrical output of cells to characterize changes in eye function over the course of development.  By studying these two species in particular, and coupling newly learned techniques with the PI's expertise in evolutionary studies through DNA analysis, the proposed research will reveal how developmental changes in visual systems affect the behavior of an animal.  The knowledge gained in the project will be integrated into a newly developed course in Sensory Biology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM). In addition, the work will be used to provide summer research experience to undergraduates through two funded UHM NSF funded REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) summer programs, one of which specifically targets the involvement of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students.   Technical DescriptionThis fellowship will provide training for the PI and a graduate student in crustacean-specific electrophysiology and behavioral techniques, providing them with the interdisciplinary tools to link molecular evolution with physiological function and behavioral output for a truly integrated research program in visual system evolution. The work will focus on generating novel ontogenetic datasets for two crustaceans with unique eyes, the stomatopod Squilla empusa and the copepod Labidocera aestiva, to investigate the development and evolution of sensory system diversification.  Specific project goals are to characterize complex stomatopod and simple copepod eyes using electrophysiology to describe underlying photoreceptor diversity and function, and behavioral assays to establish when particular visual capabilities become functional during development. The addition of two new methodologies for studies of visual system form and function will be transformative for the PI's research program, generating broad, integrative training for both undergraduate and graduate students and making future proposals more competitive through more integrated experimental designs.  Conversely, time spent at the University of Delaware will allow for reciprocal training in molecular techniques for members of the host laboratory, thus providing the same integrative training across two institutions. The proposed project will establish a collaboration between leaders in the fields of crustacean molecular evolution and visual physiology, as well as strengthen newly-initiated collaborations with other research units at the PI's home institution.