Collaborative Research: Prediction of Medusan Predatory Roles Based on Quantitative Studies of Animal-Fluid Interactions

合作研究：基于动物与体液相互作用的定量研究预测美杜桑的掠食性角色

• 批准号: 0623508
• 负责人: John Costello
• 金额: $ 24.97万
• 依托单位: Providence College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-09-01 至 2010-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0623508&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Prediction; Medusan; Predatory

Several studies have found that medusan predation plays a dominant role in a variety of marine planktonic communities, but the variables controlling medusan prey selection and ingestion rates remain contentious. A possible reason for this lack of consensus is that there is not a strong mechanistic understanding of medusan predation and, rather than a single uniform type, medusae are a diverse phylogenetic, morphological and functional array of predators whose mechanical differences must be understood before realistic predator models can be constructed. This study will examine the hypothesis that the diversity of functional alternatives are constrained to two major mechanical solutions for medusan motility: jetting and rowing propulsion. The investigators argue that these propulsion types are the key to understanding predation patterns because propulsive mode is directly related to foraging mode. However, this presents a major challenge because only jet propulsion has been quantitatively described in medusae. In contrast, all of the documented examples of planktonic standing stock limitation by medusae involve rowing-propelled, cruising medusae that feed by fluid entrainment of prey during swimming. The investigators contend that quantification of fluid interactions with medusan prey capture surfaces is a necessary prerequisite to the construction of realistic models predicting medusan prey selection and ingestion rates. The first goal of the project is to quantitatively delineate hydrodynamic characteristics of rowing and jetting propulsion. This will involve an interdisciplinary comparative study of representative members of major medusan lineages using DPIV measurements of free-swimming animals and newly developed methods for the analysis and interpretation of these quantitative flow visualizations. From these results, the investigators will deduce appropriate hydrodynamic models for application to major medusan lineages. The second major goal is to quantitatively describe the interactions between fluid flows and capture surfaces of the most ecologically influential medusan lineages - the rowing-propelled, cruising foragers. Members of this group include various lineages that capture prey in either the upstream (e.g. Narcomedusae, Coronatae) or downstream (e.g. Leptomedusae, Semastomeae, Rhizostomeae) components of flow around the swimming bell. This research will detail the fluid flow rates past capture surfaces and will serve as the basis for hydrodynamically-based clearance rate estimates of medusan predation.Intellectual Merit of the Proposed Activity: Medusan predation affects all planktonic groups, and development of a hydrodynamically based understanding of medusan predation will have potentially wide application to studies of other planktonic taxa. Additionally, this information will contribute novel conceptual insights to the fields of animal swimming and integrated marine animal behavior. From this perspective, this study directly addresses the issue of understanding factors influencing biological diversity and its ecological consequences in marine systems, a specific theme emphasized by NSF's Biological Oceanography division. Furthermore, the elucidation of governing design principles in marine locomotion can complement existing studies of underwater vehicle design inspired by fish swimming.Broader impacts of the Proposed Activity: Students, primarily undergraduates, will participate in every aspect of the proposed research and the investigators will participate in programs designed to direct these opportunities for training and mentorship toward underrepresented undergraduate students. Two of the principal investigators participating in this collaboration are from primarily undergraduate institutions and one is from a primarily graduate institution. The participation of underrepresented undergraduate students will be encouraged through established programs at Caltech aimed at providing research opportunities to minority students from other campuses across the country. The Caltech investigator will also continue in his role as Coordinator of the Freshmen Summer Institute (FSI) Research Program at Caltech. This annual, four-week program was initiated in 2001 in response to the disproportionately low number of students from underrepresented groups participating in research activities on campus. In addition, they will use their contacts with media involved in education of the general public to communicate our new findings about medusan form and function. Finally, an online tutorial will be developed to disseminate the new experimental DPIV methods to other research groups investigating various topics in aquatic biomechanics and marine ecology.

多项研究发现，水母捕食在多种海洋浮游生物群落中起着主导作用，但控制水母猎物选择和摄入率的变量仍然存在争议。缺乏共识的一个可能原因是，人们对水母捕食的机制缺乏深入的了解，而且水母不是单一统一的类型，而是一种不同系统发育、形态和功能的捕食者，必须在现实捕食者之前了解其机械差异可以构建模型。这项研究将检验这样一个假设：功能替代方案的多样性仅限于水母运动的两种主要机械解决方案：喷射和划船推进。研究人员认为，这些推进类型是理解捕食模式的关键，因为推进模式与觅食模式直接相关。然而，这提出了一个重大挑战，因为在水母中仅定量描述了喷气推进。相比之下，所有记录在案的水母限制浮游现存种群的例子都涉及划船推进、巡航的水母，它们在游泳时通过猎物夹带的液体进食。研究人员认为，量化流体与水母猎物捕获表面的相互作用是构建预测水母猎物选择和摄取率的现实模型的必要先决条件。该项目的首要目标是定量描述划船和喷射推进的水动力特性。这将涉及使用自由游泳动物的 DPIV 测量和新开发的方法来分析和解释这些定量流可视化，对主要水母谱系的代表成员进行跨学科比较研究。根据这些结果，研究人员将推导出适用于主要水母谱系的适当的流体动力学模型。第二个主要目标是定量描述最具生态影响力的水母谱系（划船推进的巡航觅食者）的流体流动和捕获表面之间的相互作用。该群体的成员包括在游泳钟周围水流的上游（例如水母科、冠状水母科）或下游（例如水母科、毛虫科、根口虫科）捕获猎物的各种谱系。这项研究将详细介绍经过捕获表面的流体流速，并将作为基于水动力的水母捕食清除率估计的基础。拟议活动的智力优点：水母捕食影响所有浮游生物群体，并发展基于水动力的理解水母捕食将有可能广泛应用于其他浮游生物类群的研究。此外，这些信息将为动物游泳和综合海洋动物行为领域提供新颖的概念见解。从这个角度来看，这项研究直接解决了理解影响生物多样性的因素及其在海洋系统中的生态后果的问题，这是美国国家科学基金会生物海洋学部门强调的一个特定主题。此外，阐明海洋运动的控制设计原则可以补充受鱼类游泳启发的水下航行器设计的现有研究。拟议活动的更广泛影响：学生，主要是本科生，将参与拟议研究的各个方面，研究人员也将参与旨在将这些培训和指导机会引导给代表性不足的本科生的计划。参与本次合作的两名主要研究人员主要来自本科院校，一名主要来自研究生机构。加州理工学院将通过旨在为全国其他校园的少数族裔学生提供研究机会的既定项目来鼓励代表性不足的本科生的参与。加州理工学院的调查员还将继续担任加州理工学院新生暑期学院 (FSI) 研究项目的协调员。这项为期四周的年度计划于 2001 年启动，旨在应对参与校园研究活动的弱势群体学生人数过少的情况。此外，他们将利用与参与公众教育的媒体的联系来传达我们关于水母形式和功能的新发现。最后，将开发一个在线教程，向研究水生生物力学和海洋生态学各个主题的其他研究小组传播新的实验 DPIV 方法。