SGER - Orientation of Coral Reef Fish Larvae in the Open Ocean with no Apparent Frame of Reference

虽然最近的数据表明，珊瑚礁鱼幼虫可能有相当大的影响，他们的分散模式，通过垂直迁移和积极的游泳行为，实现这种行为的影响仍然值得怀疑。对于幼虫有一个显着的影响，他们的扩散和生存，他们必须能够检测到的方向，电流在开放的海洋和/或使用各种不同的线索的方向。珊瑚鱼幼体是否能够探测洋流的方向，以及在开阔的海洋中是否有任何明显的定向行为，目前还不得而知。这项研究将开发创新的方法，并使用综合生态学方法来调查新孵化和后期珊瑚鱼幼虫在开阔海洋中检测和响应水流方向的能力，以及检查它们对各种潜在感官线索的定向行为。化学、视觉和机械提示）和大尺度（例如，声、磁、天体和太阳线索）在开阔的海洋中，并在不同的距离珊瑚礁。通过调查一系列的珊瑚礁鱼类的定向能力，这项研究将提供重要的信息，了解潜在的幼虫，影响他们的分散模式，使用主动行为。更广泛的影响-拟议的观测技术也可应用于具有远洋幼虫阶段的大量海洋生物。所提议的探索性方法的成功，加上遥感和照相技术的迅速发展，可以促进幼虫生态学领域的创新性进展。在过去十年中，有一种趋势是建立海洋保护区，作为保护濒危鱼种的保障措施，并通过依赖密度的溢出和增加幼虫产量来增加种群。了解海洋种群通过幼虫扩散的联系，对于海洋保护区网络的最佳设计以及对集合种群结构的基本了解至关重要。从这个项目中获得的信息有可能在世界范围内大大推进珊瑚礁管理理论。

Although recent data suggest that reef fish larvae may have a considerable influence on their dispersal patterns through vertical migration and active swimming behavior, the realized impact of such behavior remains in doubt. For larvae to have a significant impact on their dispersal and survival they must be capable of detecting the direction of currents in the open ocean and/or use a variety of different cues for orientation. Whether reef fish larvae can detect the direction of ocean currents and have any apparent orientation behavior in the open ocean is so far unknown. This study will develop innovative methodology and use an integrated ecological approach to investigate the ability of both newly hatched and late stage reef fish larvae to detect and respond to the direction of current flow in the open ocean, as well as examine their orientation behavior in response to a variety of potential sensory cues on both small (e.g., chemical, visual, and mechanical cues) and large scales (e.g., acoustic, magnetic, celestial, and solar cues) in the open ocean and at various distances from the reef. By investigating the orientation capabilities of a range of reef fish species, this study will provide information vital to understanding the potential for the larvae to influence their dispersal patterns using active behavior. Broader Impacts - The proposed observational technique could also be applied to a large array of marine organisms that have a pelagic larval stage. The success of the proposed exploratory approach, together with rapid development of remote sensing and camera technologies, could catalyze innovative advances in the field of larval ecology. Over the last decade there has been a trend towards implementing marine protected areas as a safeguard to protecting endangered fisheries species and to enhance stocks through density dependent spill over and increased larval output. An understanding of the connectivity of marine populations through larval dispersal is critical for the optimal design of marine protected area networks as well as for the basic understanding of metapopulation structures. Information obtained from this project has the potential to substantially advance reef management theory worldwide.