Collaborative Research: The Rules of Predation: Linking Biomechanics and Ecology in the Bat-Insect Arms Race

捕食者如何追捕猎物可能是其行为中最重要的方面之一。几乎所有的动物，无论是捕食者还是潜在的猎物，捕食成功与否都决定着它们的生存。然而，我们对自然界中捕食者和猎物的具体运动能力以及它们如何决定生死遭遇的结果知之甚少。研究自然捕食是困难的；这些事件很罕见，而且很难预测。掠食者使用各种各样的运动策略来捕猎猎物：以极快的速度攻击，偷偷摸摸地靠近，在追捕过程中快速反复地机动，等等。这项研究将探讨蝙蝠如何使用不同的捕食策略来捕食昆虫，剖析特定物种选择其追捕形式的能力的生理学和解剖学基础。这项研究将为生物学、工程学和计算机科学的学生团队提供丰富的学习机会。它将在布朗大学开发一个科学传播实习项目，学生们将把蝙蝠捕食昆虫的研究视频转化为媒体，并将在全球传播，突出蝙蝠和昆虫对我们生态系统的重要性。该项目使用蝙蝠和昆虫的模型系统，将对运动机制基础的详细理解与实验和模拟联系起来，研究运动能力如何影响捕食者-猎物的相互作用。蝙蝠和昆虫是高度多样化的群体，它们共同进化了数百万年。研究人员将使用新兴的视频记录和计算机视觉技术，高精度地量化几种蝙蝠在自然条件下捕食昆虫的运动能力。这些实地研究将辅以对蝙蝠在定制飞行场所飞行的研究，以便更详细地测量蝙蝠的飞行运动。飞行和捕食者-猎物的计算机模拟将用于测试关于决定蝙蝠飞行能力的因素以及运动能力如何影响捕食者-猎物结果的假设。这将导致开放获取的计算机软件，这将帮助科学家研究各种动物来预测飞行能力和捕食者-猎物相互作用的结果。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

How a predator pursues its prey may be one of the most important aspects of its behavior. Predation success determines survival for nearly all animals, be they predator or potential prey. We know little, however, about the specific movement abilities of predators and prey in nature and how they determine the outcomes of life-or-death encounters. It is difficult to study natural predation; these events are rare and difficult to anticipate. Predators use a variety of movement strategies to hunt prey: striking with great speed, sneaking up stealthily, and maneuvering quickly and repeatedly during pursuit, to name a few. This research will address how bats hunt insects using different predation strategies, dissecting the physiology and anatomy that underlie the abilities of particular species to select their form of pursuit. This research will provide rich learning opportunities for teams of students in biology, engineering and computer science. It will develop a science communication internship program at Brown University where students will transform research videos of bats hunting insects into media that will be distributed globally and that highlight the importance of bats and insects to our ecosystems.This project uses the model system of bats and insects to link detailed understanding of the mechanistic basis of locomotion with experiments and simulations that examine how movement abilities influence predator-prey interactions. Bats and insects are highly diverse groups that have co-evolved for millions of years. The researchers will use emerging video-recording and computer vision technologies to quantify with high precision the movement abilities of several bat species as they hunt insects under natural conditions. These field studies will be complemented by studies of bats flying in a custom flight arena that allow measurement of bat flight movements in greater detail. Flight and predator-prey computer simulations will be used to test hypotheses regarding what determines bat flight abilities and how movement abilities affect predator-prey outcomes. This will lead to open-access computer software that will help scientists studying a variety of animals to predict flight abilities and the outcomes of predator-prey interactions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.