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

合作研究：捕食规则：蝙蝠昆虫军备竞赛中生物力学和生态学的联系

基本信息

批准号：
1931135
负责人：
Sharon Swartz
金额：
$ 23.98万
依托单位：
Brown University
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2019
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2019-08-01 至 2023-07-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1931135&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Collaborative Research Rules Predation Linking

项目摘要

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.

捕食者如何追求猎物可能是其行为最重要的方面之一。捕食成功决定了几乎所有动物的生存，无论是捕食者还是潜在的猎物。但是，我们对捕食者和猎物本质上的特定运动能力以及它们如何确定生命或死亡相遇的结果。很难研究自然捕食。这些事件很少见，很难预期。掠食者使用各种运动策略来狩猎猎物：以极大的速度打击，偷偷摸摸地偷偷摸摸，在追捕过程中迅速而反复进行操纵，仅举几例。这项研究将解决蝙蝠如何使用不同的捕食策略来狩猎昆虫，从而解剖特定物种能力选择其追求形式的能力的生理和解剖结构。这项研究将为生物学，工程和计算机科学的学生团队提供丰富的学习机会。它将在布朗大学制定一项科学沟通实习计划，在该计划中，学生将将猎虫的研究视频转变为将在全球范围内分发的媒体，并强调蝙蝠和昆虫在我们的生态系统中的重要性。本项目使用蝙蝠和昆虫的模型系统将对实验和模拟的机械依据的详细理解链接到详细的研究中，从而影响了运动和模拟的机械基础。蝙蝠和昆虫是多种多样的群体，它们已经共同发展了数百万年。研究人员将使用新兴的视频录制和计算机视觉技术以高精度量化几种蝙蝠物种在自然条件下狩猎昆虫时的运动能力。这些现场研究将通过对自定义飞行竞技场中飞行的蝙蝠的研究进行补充，该研究可以详细衡量蝙蝠飞行运动。飞行和捕食者的计算机模拟将用于测试有关决定蝙蝠飞行能力以及运动能力如何影响捕食者捕食结果的假设。这将导致开放式计算机软件，这将帮助研究各种动物的科学家预测飞行能力和捕食者互动的结果。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准通过评估来获得支持的。