Collaborative Research: BEHAVIORAL AND NEURAL MECHANISMS FOR PREDATOR EVASION IN CRUSTACEAN ZOOPLANKTON

在这个项目中，研究人员将研究海洋鱿鱼类桡足类捕食者逃避行为的个体发生。捕食者-猎物相互作用的神经行为学机制是浮游生物在所有发育阶段成功的基础。该方法将是跨学科的，整合行为学、形态学和神经生理学的研究。具体目标是：a)记录从幼体到成年不同生命阶段的逃避反应的发展，并将逃避行为的变化与感觉、运动和中枢神经系统的发展联系起来；B)描述不同的环境条件对不同生命阶段的逃逸的影响；c)描述逃避天敌行为的发展特征。捕食往往是浮游生物死亡的最大原因。不同的海洋分类群以不同的方式应对这一挑战。在鱿鱼类桡足类动物中，这导致了很少有其他生物能匹敌的逃脱能力。这种表现的基础是一系列不寻常的神经运动特征，这些特征是为了响应捕食压力而进化而来的，包括高机械感受敏感性、高神经元发射频率能力和大约一半的角鲨类动物中有髓鞘神经系统的存在。在行为上，它包括对机械刺激的快速反应，肌肉能量的高输出和肌肉动作的高循环率。传统的甲壳类动物的生理特性不能解释桡足类动物的逃跑能力。这些动物是如何获得这些非凡的行为和生理表现的，以及这些表现是如何从幼年发展到成年的，是理解它们成功的关键问题。因为角鲨烷类在逃逸方面投入如此之多，所以这些问题的答案与所有生物体的一般问题密切相关，即神经运动系统在生态和进化适应中所起的作用。综合方法可以阐明这一点。关注发展阶段将实现几个目标。对于许多动物类群来说，年轻个体（桡足类中的桡足类和桡足类）的总体捕食风险高于成年个体。对这种易感性的研究，特别是作为神经行为学问题的研究，相对较少。拟议的工作将绘制出桡足动物的发展战略，以提高其成熟的行为能力。其次，通过比较发育阶段与成人的形态和生理特征的研究，将有助于我们确定发育过程中神经运动系统的不同方面是如何以及何时出现的，以及这些方面与逃跑行为的关系。最后，它将使科学界更好地理解捕食者-猎物在幼年阶段的相互作用。更广泛的影响包括研究生和本科生的培训，以及为公众和K-12提供学习机会。该项目将支持培训两名海洋科学研究生，他们将在神经生理学、形态学和行为测试领域接受交叉培训。在小学至12年级及社区层面，我们会制作一段有关浮游生物群落生物相互作用的短片供公众播放，并继续发展和维持一个有关浮游动物感官生态学的网站

In this project the Investigators will examine the ontogeny of predator-evasion behavior in marine calanoid copepods. Neuroethological mechanisms underlying predator-prey interactions are fundamental to the success of planktonic species at all developmental stages. The approach will be interdisciplinary, integrating behavioral, morphological and neurophysiological studies. The specific objectives are: a) to document the development of the escape response in different life stages, from nauplius to adult, and correlate changing escape performance with the development of the sensory, motor and central nervous systems; b) to characterize the effect of variable environmental conditions on the escape of the different life stages; and c) to characterize the development of escape behavior to natural predators. Predation is often the greatest source of mortality for planktonic organisms. Different marine taxa have met this challenge in different ways. In calanoid copepods, it has led to an escape performance matched by few other organisms. Underlying this performance is an array of unusual neuromotor characteristics evolved in response to the predation pressure, including high mechanoreceptive sensitivity, high neuronal firing-frequency capabilities and the occurrence of myelinated nervous systems in about half of all calanoids. Behaviorally it includes fast reactions to mechanical stimuli, high output of muscle energy and high cycle rates of muscle action. Conventional crustacean physiological properties cannot account for copepod escape capabilities. How these animals achieve their remarkable behavioral and physiological performance and how the performance develops from nauplius to adult, are key questions in understanding their success. Because calanoids invest so heavily in escape, the answer to these questions relates strongly to the general issue in all organisms of the role played by the neuromotor system in ecological and evolutionary adaptations. An integrated approach can shed light on this. Focus on the developmental stages will achieve several goals. As for many animal groups, overall predation risk for younger individuals (nauplii and copepodites in copepods) is higher than for adults. Studies of this susceptibility, especially as a neuroethological issue, are relatively few. The proposed work will map out the copepod's developmental strategy for increasing behavioral competence as it matures. Secondly, through studies comparing morphological and physiological features of developmental stages with those in adults, it will help us determine how and when different aspects of the neuromotor systems appear during development and how these correlate with escape performance. Finally, it will give the scientific community a much better understanding of predator-prey interactions in the younger stages. Broader impacts include training of graduate and undergraduate students, as well as providing learning opportunities for the general public and K-12. The project will support the training of two graduate students in marine science, who will be cross-trained in areas of neurophysiology, morphology and behavioral testing. At the level of K-12 and the community we will develop a short video on biological interactions in plankton communities for public presentation and continue to develop and maintain a website on zooplankton sensory ecology