Digital camera and software for image analysis

我实验室的三个主要项目需要使用图像分析系统来测量幼鱼和鱼鳞的形态和鱼鳞特征。在圣劳伦斯河口，尽管存在高水平的基因流动，但两个同域的彩虹气味种群在形态上是截然不同的。我的发现基金的一个主要目标是检验这样一个假设，即在特定河口生境的早期发育过程中觅食会产生选择性力量，导致两个冶炼种群的表型轨迹独立。我们的目标是记录特定形态特征的发展，并将这些与不同环境下形态测量特定死亡率的估计联系起来。第二个项目旨在评估大西洋鲑鱼替代雄性生殖策略及其相关形态的遗传力。具体地说，我们的目标是测试这样一种假设，即有助于在快速水流中提高觅食效率的特征的遗传性(从而增加了生长速度)有利于运动鞋雄性后代的早熟发育。在这两个项目中，都需要高分辨率的数字图像和图像分析软件来准确测量小型幼鱼的形态特征。最后，我们每年读取和测量魁北克两条参考河流中数百条幼鲑鱼和成年鲑鱼的鳞片，以跟踪大小选择性海洋死亡率、海洋环境变化和总海洋死亡率之间的关系。同样，高分辨率的数码照片和图像分析软件在测量鳞片微观结构方面也是必不可少的。我们要求资金购买奥林巴斯DP 20 2MP，相关软件和光源。该相机不需要计算机来获取图像，只需要一个监视器。图像存储在1 GB的闪存中，并下载到独立的计算机上，稍后使用Image Pro Express(V6)软件进行处理。该设备将取代不再起作用的基于模拟的旧系统。

Three major projects in my laboratory require the use of an image analysis system to measure the morphometric and meristic characteristics of juvenile fishes and fish scales. In the St. Lawrence estuary, two sympatric populations of rainbow smelt are morphologically distinct in spite of high levels of gene flow. A major objective of my Discovery grant is to test the hypothesis that foraging during early development in specific estuarine habitats generates the selective forces leading to independent phenotypic trajectories of the two smelt populations. We aim to document the development of specific morphological traits and relate these to estimates of morphometric-specific mortality rates in different environmental settings. A second project aims to estimate the heritability of alternative male reproductive tactics and their associated morphologies in Atlantic salmon. Specifically, we aim to test the hypothesis that heritability of traits contributing to increased foraging efficiency in rapid currents (and hence increased growth rates) favours the development of early maturity among the progeny of sneaker males. In both projects, high-resolution digital images and image analysis software are required to accurately measure the morphological traits of small juvenile fishes. Finally, we annually read and measure the scales of hundreds of juvenile and adult salmon from two reference rivers in Quebec to track the relationship among size-selective marine mortality, environmental variation at sea, and total marine mortality rates. Once again, high-resolution digital photographs and image analysis software are essential in measuring scale microstructure. We request funds to purchase an Olympus DP 20 2MP, associated software and light source. The camera does not require a computer to acquire images, only a monitor. Images are stored on a 1GB flash memory and downloaded on an independent computer and processed using the Image Pro Express (V6) software at a later date. This equipment will replace an old, analog-based system that is no longer functional.