Sensory ecology of acoustic communication: implications of a changing environment

我的中心研究计划侧重于感官刺激在鱼类感觉生态和进化中的作用，主要是听觉和机械感觉。我们对鱼如何处理感官信号以及鱼如何在其自然环境中使用这种感官信息有根本的兴趣。除了我们在感觉神经行为学方面的基本研究问题外，我的实验室还越来越感兴趣的是，人为影响如何影响感觉处理和检测，以及这些影响可能对鱼类群落和种群产生什么影响。重要的是不仅要记录人为投入对环境的影响，而且要评估不同物种可能能够对这些影响作出反应的方式。通过将动物的自然感觉生态学与人类对感觉过程的影响相结合，我们可以更好地理解感觉系统的进化，并为人类的影响提供重要的背景。在接下来的5年里，我的研究将沿着这两个相辅相成的轨道进行，以更好地了解鱼类的感官功能，并更好地量化越来越多的人为影响对鱼类健康和种群的预期影响。我们将以三个主要的短期目标进行这项研究：1)感觉生态和声学交流的整合；2)人为噪声对鱼类健康和适合性的影响；以及3)对环境应激源的感觉和行为的灵活性。目标1将使用比较的方法来了解声音输入是如何在神经水平上整合的，以及声音产生的变化如何在生物体水平上影响生殖决定。目标2将量化自然和人为输入的水下声景，然后使用回放实验来测试这些声源对鱼类健康的影响。目标3将结合从目标1和目标2收集的信息，以测试环境应激源对鱼类行为和适合度的重要性，以及某些物种是否可能具有灵活性，以改变其行为动态或用于改善这些感官应激源影响的主要感觉系统。我们的多管齐下的方法不仅能更好地将鱼类的感官生物学与不断变化的环境的影响结合在一起，而且通过用不同的技能训练它们，极大地增强了我的HQP的训练。我的学生在声学、神经科学、视频分析、显微解剖、荧光成像、MatLab编程和统计学方面接受了高度培训，为他们的职业生涯的下一个阶段提供了宝贵的技能。

My central research program focuses on the role of sensory stimuli, primarily auditory and mechanosensory, in the sensory ecology and evolution of fishes. We have a fundamental interest in how fish process sensory signals and how this sensory information is used by the fish in its natural environment. In addition to our basic research questions in sensory neuroethology, my lab is also increasingly interested in how anthropogenic influences affect sensory processing and detection and what impacts these may have on fish communities and populations. It is important not only to document impacts of anthropogenic inputs to environments but also to assess ways in which different species may be able to respond to these impacts. By combining work on the natural sensory ecology of animals with human impacts on sensory processes we can better understand the evolution of sensory systems as well as provide important context to human influences. For the next 5 years, my research will follow these two complementary tracks to better understand sensory function of fishes and to also better quantify expected effects of increasing anthropogenic influences on fish health and populations. We will approach this research with three main short-term objectives:1) sensory ecology and integration of acoustic communication; 2) anthropogenic noise effects on fish health and fitness; and 3) sensory and behavioural flexibility in response to environmental stressors. Aim 1 will use a comparative approach to understand how sound inputs are integrated at the neural level and how variations in sound production may affect reproductive decisions at the organismal level. Aim 2 will quantify the underwater soundscape for both natural and anthropogenic inputs and then use playback experiments to test the effects of these sound sources on fish fitness. Aim 3 will combine information gleaned from aims 1 and 2 to test the importance of environmental stressors on fish behaviour and fitness and whether some species may have the flexibility to alter their behavioural dynamics or primary sensory systems used to allow amelioration of effects of these sensory stressors. Our multipronged approach not only works to better integrate fish sensory biology with effects of a changing environment but also greatly enhances the training of my HQP by training them with a diverse skill set. My students are highly trained in acoustics, neuroscience, video analysis, microdissection, fluorescent imaging, MATLAB programming and statistics, given them a valued skill set for the next stages of their careers.