NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: The Behavioral, Neurophysiological, and Physical Mechanisms of Ink as an Antipredation Strategy

这项行动资助了2020财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大了生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。该研究金支持研究员的一项研究和培训计划，该计划将增加在生物学领域代表性不足的群体的参与。墨迹是捕食者的一种防御手段，它既可以作为烟幕攻击捕食者的视觉系统，也可以作为化学威慑物攻击捕食者的化学感受系统。墨迹在进化遥远的动物中发现，如海兔，头足类动物，甚至鲸鱼。这些动物产生的墨水含有不同的化学物质，但它们的墨水对它们的捕食者有类似的负面影响。与以往的研究集中在一种类型的墨水，这个项目比较墨水从三种不同的动物：加州海兔，普通墨鱼，和侏儒鲸。这项工作将调查这三种墨水对鲨鱼这种常见捕食者的行为、生理和物理影响。 墨水能阻止鲨鱼攻击食物吗？鲨鱼能闻到墨水吗？墨水在鲨鱼的鼻孔里是如何流动的？这将是第一个关于乌贼和任何墨水脊椎动物的数据。该研究员将在华盛顿大学和佛罗里达大西洋大学工作，这是一所西班牙裔服务机构，旨在扩大高中、本科和研究生的参与。本研究采用比较和综合的行为，电生理和流体动力学的方法来研究三个不同类群的墨水的抗捕食作用。这项研究将着眼于墨水的影响行为，通过量化的影响，墨水对食物的动机鲨鱼通过运动学游泳分析（目标1）;生理上，通过记录的反应，鲨鱼嗅觉系统墨水通过电嗅觉图（EOG;目标2）;和物理上，通过调查墨水的物理特性的影响，流在鲨鱼嗅觉器官（目标3）。通过这些目标，研究员将测试以下假设：H1：墨水将作为一种威慑，对正常的摄食行为产生负面影响; H2：墨水将产生足够大小的EOG反应，表明墨水刺激鲨鱼的嗅觉系统; H3：墨水在鲨鱼的嗅觉器官上形成物理屏障，扰乱流动并覆盖感觉上皮。该研究员将教授和指导现有的学生，招收新生，并与少数民族服务组织的成员，如鲨鱼科学和拉丁美洲海洋科学的少数民族。最后，该研究员将开发西班牙科学传播内容，向当地西班牙裔社区传播研究成果。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2020, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The Fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. Inking is a predator defense which attacks both a predator’s visual system by acting as a smokescreen and their chemosensory system as a chemical deterrent. Inking is found in evolutionary distant animals such as sea hares, cephalopods, and even whales. These animals produce ink with different chemicals, yet their ink has similar negative effects on their predators. Unlike previous studies which focus on one type of ink, this project compares ink from three different animals: California sea hares, common cuttlefish, and pygmy whales. This work will investigate the behavioral, physiological, and physical effects of these three inks on sharks, a common predator. Does ink stop a shark from attacking food? Are sharks able to smell ink? How does ink flow within a shark’s nostril? This will be the first data of its kind for cuttlefish and any inking vertebrate. The fellow will work at University of Washington and Florida Atlantic University, a Hispanic serving institution, to broaden participation at the high school, undergraduate, and graduate level. This research uses comparative and integrative behavioral, electrophysiological, and hydrodynamic approaches to examine the antipredator effects of ink from three disparate taxa. This research will look at the effect of ink behaviorally, by quantifying the effect of ink on a food motivated shark through kinematic swimming analysis (Aim 1); physiologically, by recording the response of the shark olfactory system to ink through electro-olfactorgrams (EOGs; Aim 2); and physically, by investigating the effects of the physical properties of ink on flow within the shark olfactory organ (Aim 3). Through these objectives, the fellow will test the following hypotheses: H1: ink will act as a deterrent, negatively impacting normal feeding behavior; H2: ink will yield adequately sized EOG responses, demonstrating that ink stimulates the olfactory system of sharks; and H3: ink forms a physical barrier on the olfactory organs of sharks, disrupting flow and covering sensory epithelium. The fellow will teach and mentor current students, recruit new students, and work with members of minority serving organizations such as Minorities in Shark Science and Latinx in Marine Science. Finally, the fellow will develop Spanish science communication content to disseminate research to the local Hispanic communities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.