The Sensory Basis for Ecological Paradigms on Wave-Swept Shores

“这项奖励是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。”海洋生态系统受海洋学过程的限制，反映了其居民的综合属性。系统级过程，如初级生产力、疾病动态和面对自然和人为气候强迫的稳定性，具有深远的全球意义。这些特性高度依赖于物种内部和物种之间个体之间的相互作用网络。有机体依靠感官信息来做出决定，利用有益的相互作用，避免有害的相互作用。刺激-反应动力学可以影响组织的每一个层面，从demes到生态系统。食物的化学（气味和味道）是决定饮食偏好的基本属性，因此，捕食者和猎物之间的功能反应关系，与栖息地无关。值得注意的是，海洋捕食者追踪活的、完整的猎物所利用的任何化合物都没有完整的结构阐明。在这个项目中，研究人员将研究捕食者-猎物相互作用的感官基础，跨越多个营养水平，在一个易处理的野外环境中，在化学线索上，利用现有的化学分析技术可以获得分离、纯化和鉴定。研究人员将确定触发潮间带岩石中楔石（海星和海螺）捕食基础（藤壶和贻贝）物种的分子的完整结构。虽然研究曾经问过一个给定的捕食者是否消耗了一个给定的猎物，但我们现在有了独特的准备来回答是什么，确切的，猎物化合物触发了捕食者，因此，什么是既定的，群落生态范式的感官决定因素？对感觉系统的研究，结合行为和人口研究，将建立刺激空间、行为和决策过程的人口结果之间的联系。更广泛的影响包括通过在高知名度期刊和流行媒体上发表文章进行公众宣传。计划为所有层次的学生提供培训机会，并通过研究人员积极参与的大学项目，重点关注科学领域代表性不足的群体。

"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)."A marine ecosystem, circumscribed by oceanographic processes, reflects the composite attributes of its inhabitants. System-level processes, such as primary productivity, disease dynamics, and stability in the face of natural and human-induced climate forcing, have profound global significance. These properties are highly dependent on networks of interactions among individuals both within and between species. Relying on sensory information to shape decisions, organisms exploit beneficial and avoid detrimental interactions. Stimulus-response dynamics can influence every level of organization, from demes to ecosystems.The chemistry (smell and taste) of food is a basic property determining eating preferences, and hence, functional-response relationships between predators and prey, irrespective of habitat. Remarkably, there has been no complete structural elucidation of any compound exploited by marine predators tracking live, intact prey. In this project, the investigators will study sensory basis for predator-prey interactions across multiple trophic levels, in a tractable field environment, and on a chemical cue for which isolation, purification, and identification can be attained using existing, chemical-analytical techniques. The investigators will determine the complete structures of molecules that trigger predation by keystone (seastars and whelks) on foundation (barnacles and mussels) species in the rocky intertidal. Whereas studies once asked if a given predator consumed a given prey, we now are uniquely poised to answer what, exact, prey compound triggers a predator and, thus, what are the sensory determinants for established, community-ecological paradigms? Research on sensory systems, in conjunction with behavioral and population studies, will establish linkages between stimulus space, behavior, and the demographic consequences of decision making processes.The broader impacts include public outreach through publication in high profile journals and popular press outlets. Training opportunities are planned for students at all levels with significant emphasis on under-represented groups in science through university programs in which the investigators are actively involved.