EAGER: New molecular methods for studying copepod nauplii in the field

公海中数量最多的后生动物往往是桡足类的最早发育阶段，即无节幼体。由于传统技术的局限性，以及历史上对大型中游动物的重视，对无节幼体的研究仍然不足。然而，越来越多的人认识到无节幼体在食物网动态中扮演着重要的角色，相当多的证据表明，无节幼体可能是微生物和经典食物网之间的重要营养中间体，因为它们具有高丰度、高特定重量摄取率和以相对较小的颗粒为食的能力。这组研究人员正在开发一种新的分子方法，以定量聚合酶链式反应(QPCR)为基础，在混合现场样本中研究不同的无节幼体种群。他们建议完成这种基于qPCR的无节幼体计数技术的开发和验证，并评估其在现场的实用性。这项研究的具体目标是找出和减少该方法中的技术和生物学误差来源，确定该方法在一系列环境条件下的准确性，并完成一个配对的野外实验，比较无节幼体和原生动物微型放牧在一个模型亚热带沿海生态系统中的放牧影响。该项目的更广泛影响将包括培训研究生和本科生，将研究成果纳入夏威夷大学马诺阿分校的研究生和本科生课程，以及通过网络和公共场所进行公众宣传。这些私人投资机构在聘请任职人数不足的学生从事研究方面有着良好的记录，并将特别重视招收和培训来自任职人数不足背景的学生。

The most abundant metazoans in the open sea are often the earliest developmental stages of copepods, their nauplii. Nauplii remain under-studied due to the limitations of conventional techniques and an historical emphasis on studying the larger mesozooplankton. However, there is increasing recognition that nauplii play important roles in food web dynamics, and considerable evidence that nauplii may be important trophic intermediaries between microbial and classical food webs due to their high abundance, high weight-specific ingestion rates, and ability to feed on relatively small particles. This team of investigators is developing a novel molecular approach to studying diverse populations of nauplii in mixed field samples based on quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR). They propose to complete development and validation of this qPCR-based technique for enumeration of nauplii, and evaluate its utility in the field. The specific objectives of this research are to identify and reduce technical and biological sources of error in the methodology, determine the accuracy of the method across a range of environmental conditions, and complete one paired field experiment that compares the grazing impact of naupliar and protozoan micro-grazers in a model subtropical coastal ecosystem. Broader impacts of the project will include training of graduate and undergraduate students, inclusion of research results in graduate and undergraduate courses at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, and public outreach through the web and in public venues. These PIs have a strong track record of engaging under-represented students in research, and particular emphasis will be placed on recruiting and training students from under-represented backgrounds.