EAGER: Evaluation and implementation of a newly developed olfactometer for the study of sensory ecology in small marine organisms

化学线索在海洋生物的生活中起着至关重要的作用，并影响到基本的行为，如寻找栖息地、食物和配偶，以及躲避捕食者。关于化学物质在海洋动物行为中的作用的研究主要集中在少数生物体上，主要是较大的、“有魅力的”生物体，而大多数物种则完全被忽视。到目前为止，小型生物是最丰富和最多样化的，具有重大的生态重要性。所谓的“小多数”甚至包括一些较大物种的幼体或幼体。然而，它们的规模很小，这让它们尤其被忽视。尽管对化学物质在海洋生物行为中的重要性进行了数十年的研究，但针对小型海洋生物的测试仪器的复杂程度变化很小，远远落后于用于类似昆虫研究的系统。传统的海洋研究“设置”包括使用两种选择的渠道水槽，这提供了各种限制和潜在的偏向领域。在昆虫研究中，气流“嗅觉仪”的使用消除了许多这些限制。然而，将这些设备用于海洋生物是复杂的，因为水与空气相比具有独特的性质。我们已经组建了一个由水利工程、感官生物学和海洋生物学领域的专家组成的团队，以开发一种类似于昆虫研究的设备，可以用于海洋生物。该项目的目标是测试这种新设备，它将从根本上改变我们研究海洋生物对化学物质的行为反应的方式。该项目旨在验证一种新改装的嗅觉仪，用于研究小型水生生物对化学物质的行为反应。嗅觉仪的测试将在德克萨斯大学的海洋科学研究所和Keys海洋实验室进行，这两个实验室都提供现代海洋研究设施，并且很容易接触到测试生物。三种生物将被用来验证嗅觉仪。这些珊瑚包括Daffina spp.、鱼类寄生的节肢等足目动物和石珊瑚的幼体阶段。所有这些都很容易获得，而且关于重要化学线索的数据已经为他们提供了。所有的有机体都将暴露在嗅觉仪内的一种测试化学品中，并观察它们的行为。嗅觉仪内生物体的移动将被记录下来，并使用ethovision XT软件进行分析，以便收集大量数据，包括指示吸引或避免化学刺激的数据。这项研究将通过升级在不断变化的海洋中研究小生物对化学品的反应的工具包，帮助海洋研究人员与陆地研究人员处于公平的竞争环境中。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Chemical cues play critical roles in the life of marine organisms and influence essential behaviors such as finding habitat, food, and mates, and avoiding predators. Research on the role of chemicals in the behavior of animals in the ocean has focused mostly on a small number of organisms, primarily larger, “charismatic” organisms, leaving most species completely ignored. Small organisms are by far the most abundant and diverse and have major ecological importance. The so-called “smaller majority” even includes larval or juvenile forms of some larger species. Yet, their small size has left them particularly neglected. Despite decades of research on the importance of chemicals in the behavior of marine organisms, the sophistication of testing apparatus for small marine organisms in particular has changed little and lags far behind systems used for similar studies on insects. The traditional “set up” for marine studies involves using a two-choice channel flume, which provides a variety of limitations and areas of potential bias. In insect studies, the use of airflow “olfactometers” has eliminated many of these limitations. However, adapting these devices for use on marine organisms is complicated because of the unique properties of water compared to air. We have assembled a team of experts in the fields of hydraulic engineering, sensory biology, and marine biology to develop a device like those used for insect studies that can be used on marine organisms. The goal of this project is to test this new device, which stands to fundamentally change the way we study the behavioral response of marine organisms to chemicals.This project aims to validate a newly adapted olfactometer for use in research on behavioral responses to chemicals in small, aquatic organisms. Testing of the olfactometer will be conducted at the University of Texas’s Marine Science Institute, and the Keys Marine Laboratory, both of which provide modern marine research facilities and easy access to test organisms. Three organisms will be used to validate the olfactometer. These include Daphina spp., fish-parasitic gnathiid isopods, and juvenile stages of scleractinlan (stony) corals. All of these can be easily obtained and data on important chemical cues is already available for them. All organisms will be exposed to a test chemical within the olfactometer, and their behavior observed. The movement of the organism within the olfactometer will be recorded and analyzed using Ethovision XT software, allowing for a high volume of data to be collected, including data indicating attraction or avoidance of chemical stimuli. This research will help place marine researchers on a level playing field with terrestrial researchers by upgrading the toolkit for studies on the response to chemicals by small organisms in an ever-changing oceanThis 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.