Swarming Behavior of Zooplankton

9314934 Yen在不同的时间和空间尺度上，浮游动物的群集已经被观察到：在珊瑚头后面的漩涡中形成一个手掌大小的短暂的Acartia云，或者在光轴周围被发现，到存在于深处的广泛层或作为深散射层迁移。虽然大型水生生物（鱼、磷虾）和陆生动物（鸟、昆虫）的聚集行为已经得到了很好的研究，但桡足类动物如何形成聚集体，以及它们如何维持斑块，以抵御海洋中随机运动和混合的分散能量的扩散趋势，人们对这些行为知之甚少。此外，对于引起浮游动物聚集的线索，以及这些聚集的目的，我们几乎没有定量的认识。需要对桡足类动物的群体行为进行详细的研究，但由于对群体行为进行实际观察或在可以定量评估其聚集动力学的监测情况方面的限制，以前没有做过这方面的研究。该研究项目将在实验室环境中使用激光照明视频成像来观察和记录浮游动物，并将通过量化三维动物-动物相互作用以及三维动物-流体运动来检查浮游动物群体形成和维持的运动学，从而形成一个有吸引力的标记。该项目将确定桡足类动物对吸引群体成员的不同模式（光、气味、运动接收）信号的敏感性，并量化维持群体不因运动而分散的力量。研究了引诱剂强度和种群种类（阶段、性别、大小）对种群规模、密度和分布（分离距离）以及游动行为（姿态、方向、转向和碰撞频率、速度和加速度）的影响。为了验证实验室的发现，将在自然界中实地考察蜂群的行为和对指定引诱剂作出反应的蜂群形成动力学。＊＊＊

9314934 Yen Swarming of zooplankton at various temporal and spatial scales have been observed: where fist-sized ephemeral clouds of Acartia form in eddies behind coral heads or are found milling around shafts of light, to extensive layers existing at depth or migrating as deep-scattering layers. While aggregative behavior has been well-studied in larger aquatic organisms (fish, krill) and terrestrial animals (birds, insects), little is known of how copepods form aggregates nor how they maintain the patch against the tendency of spreading by random motion and the dispersive energy of mixing in the ocean. Furthermore, there is little quantitative knowledge of the cues that cause aggregations in zooplankton nor of the purpose of these aggregations. A detailed study of swarming behavior in copepods is needed yet this has not been done before because of limitations in making actual observations of swarming behavior or in monitoring situations where one can quantitatively evaluate their aggregative dynamics. This research project will observe and record zooplankton in a laboratory setting using laser-illuminated video imaging, and it will examine the kinematics of the formation and maintenance of zooplankton swarms to an attractive marker with a quantification of the 3-dimensional animal-animal interactions as well as the 3D animal-fluid motion. The project will determine the sensitivity of copepods to cues of different modalities (light-, odor-, motion- reception) which attract swarm members and to quantify the forces that maintain a swarm against dispersion by motion. The effects of attractant intensity and the species of the swarm member (stage, sex, size ) on swarm size, density and distribution (separation distance) as well as on swimming behavior (posture, orientation, turning and collision frequency, velocity and acceleration) will be investigated. To verify laboratory findings, the behavior of swarms and the dynamics of swarm formation in respo nse to a designated attractant will be examined in situ in nature. ***