Lighting up zooplankton - mapping marine light using robotics

光在海洋生态系统的行为和生命周期中起着关键作用，从决定初级生产的时间和规模，到使视觉捕食成为可能，因此与生存直接相关。浮游动物是一组不同的小型水生无脊椎动物，已知会根据光照水平改变其在水柱中的垂直位置1。它们经常被用作物种的目标群体，因为我们可以i）在实验室中研究它们的行为和对光的反应，以及ii）使用声学和视频成像技术观察它们的行为。水下照明可以通过河流输入、人类居住或养鱼场的光污染、太阳高度以及浮游植物水华的规模、群落组成和深度的变化来改变。我们意识到，全球水下光正在发生变化，这是由气候驱动的沿海地区径流量和类型的变化以及初级生产时间和规模的变化引起的，这两者都对水的光学特性产生影响。该奖学金将结合联合收割机最先进的自主采样方法，先进的声学技术和新开发的水下光建模方法，以充分量化存在于河流到海岸栖息地的光场变化的时间和空间尺度。这样做的目的是量化这对浮游动物群落的影响，已知浮游动物群落会调节它们相对于光的垂直位置。关键的研究问题是：海洋环境的变化如何反映在水下光中，这对浮游动物有什么影响？

Light plays a key role in the behaviour and life cycles of marine ecosystems, from determining the timing and magnitude of primary production, to enabling visual predation and therefore being directly linked to survival. Zooplankton, a diverse group of small aquatic invertebrates, are known to modify their vertical position in the water column depending on the level of illumination1. They are often used as a target group of species as we can i) study their behaviour and response to light in the laboratory, and ii) observe their behaviour in situ using acoustic and video imaging technology. Underwater illumination can be modified by changes in riverine input, light pollution from human inhabitation or fish farms, solar elevation, and the magnitude, community composition, and depth of phytoplankton blooms. We are aware that underwater light is changing globally, caused by climate driven changes in the amount and type of run-off in coastal areas, and changes in primary production timing and magnitude, both of which have consequences for the optical properties of water. This studentship will combine state-of-the-art autonomous sampling methods, sophisticated acoustic technology, and newly developed underwater light modelling approaches to fully quantify the temporal and spatial scales of changes in the light field that exist in a river to coast habitat. The aim of this is to quantify the effect this has on the zooplankton community that is known to modulate their vertical positioning in relation to light. The key research question is: How are changes in the marine environment reflected in underwater light, and what effect does this have on zooplankton?