An Immunological Method for the Study of Predation on MarineMicrozooplankton

利用微生物作为猎物， 目前，悬浮摄食桡足类被认为是一种 海洋营养动力学的重要组成部分。 然而，这种联系的实验证据是间接的 因为软体的猎物，如纤毛虫， 在桡足类的内脏或 粪便颗粒 奥曼医生会用免疫学方法 用于识别桡足类肠道中的微型浮游动物遗骸 内容. 这项工作需要几个步骤，包括：1） 无甲纤毛虫抗血清的制备; 2)消除不希望的交叉反应; 3） 测定灵敏度和特异性; 4） 测定抗菌剂的肠道停留时间; 5） 摄食率校准; 6）初步 近岸桡足类纤毛虫抗原研究 免疫测定将通过斑点印迹测定（ELISPOT; 酶联免疫斑点）。 食物网的概念是有机物质 由植物合成并通过放牧重新分配 在陆地和水生生物中， 环境. 然而，海洋食物网的性质 不同之处在于， 在微生物中。往往很难 确定由这些组成的食物网的结构 小颗粒，更不用说量化的程度， 某些生物会被其他生物捕食 奥曼博士 将应用分子生物学的技术， 解决了一个更有问题的捕食者-猎物 浮游生物生态学中的关系-海洋 无硬部的原生动物和海洋浮游动物。 目前关于这方面的信息很少， 是营养食物网的重要一环，这本小说 方法可以提供定量技术来分析 这些软体原生动物对大型 缅因州的有机体。

The utilization of microbial organisms as prey by suspension feeding copepods currently is thought to be a significant part of marine planktonic trophodynamics. However, experimental evidence for this link is indirect because soft bodied prey such as ciliate protozoa do not leave visually identifiable remains in copepod guts or in fecal pellets. Dr. Ohman will use immunological methods for identifying microzooplankton remains in copepod gut contents. The work entails several steps, including; 1) the production of antisera to nonloricate ciliate protozoa; 2) elimination of undesired cross reactions; 3) determination of assay sensitivity and specificity; 4) determination of gut residence time of anitgens; 5) calibration of ingestion rates; 6) preliminary investigation of nearshore copepods for ciliate antigens. Immunoassays will be done by a dot blot assay (ELISPOT; enzyme-linked immunospot). The concept of a food web by which organic material is synthesized by plants and redistributed by grazing processes is similar in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. However, the nature of the marine food web is distinct in that much of this trophic activity takes place among microorganisms. It is often difficult to identify the structure of the food web composed by these small particles, much less to quantify the extent to which certain organisms are preyed upon by others. Dr. Ohman will apply techniques developed in molecular biology to address one of the more problematic predator-prey relationships in plankton ecology - that of marine protozoans without hard parts and marine zooplankton. There is presently little information on this potentially important link in the planktonic food web, and this novel approach may provide a quantitative technique to analyze the importance of these soft bodied protozoa to larger maine organisms.