EAGER: Evaluation and implementation of a newly developed olfactometer for the study of sensory ecology in small marine organisms

EAGER：评估和实施新开发的嗅觉计，用于研究小型海洋生物的感官生态学

• 批准号: 2310259
• 负责人: Paul Sikkel
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: University of Miami
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-02-01 至 2025-01-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2310259&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Evaluation; implementation; newly; developed

Chemical cues play critical roles in the life of marine organisms and influence essential behaviors such as finding habitat, food, and mates, and avoiding predators. Research on the role of chemicals in the behavior of animals in the ocean has focused mostly on a small number of organisms, primarily larger, “charismatic” organisms, leaving most species completely ignored. Small organisms are by far the most abundant and diverse and have major ecological importance. The so-called “smaller majority” even includes larval or juvenile forms of some larger species. Yet, their small size has left them particularly neglected. Despite decades of research on the importance of chemicals in the behavior of marine organisms, the sophistication of testing apparatus for small marine organisms in particular has changed little and lags far behind systems used for similar studies on insects. The traditional “set up” for marine studies involves using a two-choice channel flume, which provides a variety of limitations and areas of potential bias. In insect studies, the use of airflow “olfactometers” has eliminated many of these limitations. However, adapting these devices for use on marine organisms is complicated because of the unique properties of water compared to air. We have assembled a team of experts in the fields of hydraulic engineering, sensory biology, and marine biology to develop a device like those used for insect studies that can be used on marine organisms. The goal of this project is to test this new device, which stands to fundamentally change the way we study the behavioral response of marine organisms to chemicals.This project aims to validate a newly adapted olfactometer for use in research on behavioral responses to chemicals in small, aquatic organisms. Testing of the olfactometer will be conducted at the University of Texas’s Marine Science Institute, and the Keys Marine Laboratory, both of which provide modern marine research facilities and easy access to test organisms. Three organisms will be used to validate the olfactometer. These include Daphina spp., fish-parasitic gnathiid isopods, and juvenile stages of scleractinlan (stony) corals. All of these can be easily obtained and data on important chemical cues is already available for them. All organisms will be exposed to a test chemical within the olfactometer, and their behavior observed. The movement of the organism within the olfactometer will be recorded and analyzed using Ethovision XT software, allowing for a high volume of data to be collected, including data indicating attraction or avoidance of chemical stimuli. This research will help place marine researchers on a level playing field with terrestrial researchers by upgrading the toolkit for studies on the response to chemicals by small organisms in an ever-changing oceanThis 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.

化学信号在海洋生物的生命中发挥着至关重要的作用，影响着寻找栖息地、食物和配偶以及躲避捕食者等基本行为。关于化学物质对海洋动物行为的作用的研究主要集中在少数生物体上，主要是较大的“魅力”生物体，而大多数物种完全被忽视。迄今为止，小型生物体数量最多、种类最多，具有重大的生态重要性。所谓的“较小的大多数”甚至包括一些较大物种的幼虫或幼体。然而，由于体型较小，它们特别容易被忽视。尽管对化学物质对海洋生物行为的重要性进行了数十年的研究，但针对小型海洋生物的测试设备的复杂程度却变化甚微，并且远远落后于用于昆虫类似研究的系统。海洋研究的传统“设置”涉及使用两种选择的水槽，这提供了各种限制和潜在偏差的区域。在昆虫研究中，气流“嗅觉计”的使用消除了许多这些限制。然而，由于水与空气相比具有独特的性质，因此将这些设备用于海洋生物是很复杂的。我们组建了一支由水利工程、感觉生物学和海洋生物学领域的专家组成的团队，开发一种可用于海洋生物的设备，类似于用于昆虫研究的设备。该项目的目标是测试这种新设备，它将从根本上改变我们研究海洋生物对化学品的行为反应的方式。该项目旨在验证一种新改造的嗅觉计，用于研究小型水生生物对化学品的行为反应。嗅觉计的测试将在德克萨斯大学海洋科学研究所和基斯海洋实验室进行，这两个实验室都提供现代化的海洋研究设施，并且可以方便地接触测试生物。将使用三种生物体来验证嗅觉计。其中包括水蚤属、鱼类寄生颌类等足类动物和石珊瑚的幼年期。所有这些都可以轻松获得，并且重要化学线索的数据已经可供他们使用。所有生物体都将暴露在嗅觉计内的测试化学品中，并观察它们的行为。嗅觉计内生物体的运动将使用 Ethovision XT 软件进行记录和分析，从而可以收集大量数据，包括表明吸引或避免化学刺激的数据。这项研究将通过升级用于研究不断变化的海洋中小生物对化学品的反应的工具包，帮助海洋研究人员与陆地研究人员处于公平的竞争环境。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。