Abstract

A significant challenge in observational marine ecology is the need to measure the behavior of individual animals in their natural environment. This is especially true of small animals such as euphausiids and copepods whose contribution to the oceanic food chain is vital. Over several decades, our group in underwater imaging has developed several tools that use high frequency acoustics and also optics to observe animal behavior and small-scale features of the ecosystem. As one example, observation of copepod behavior supports the important role that individual behavior plays in the overall ecosystem dynamics [1]. Most recently, using multispectral optical methods, we have developed an underwater camera system that permits visualization of copepod gut fluorescence, and hence, an estimate for animal ingestion [2]. In this talk, I will describe several discoveries that we have made using our technology in addition to pointing out future areas for work.

[1] Genin, A, Jaffe JS, Reef R, Richter C, Franks PJS . 2005. Swimming Against the Flow: A Mechanism of Zooplankton Aggregation. Science. 308:860-862.

[2] Karaköylü, EM, Franks PJS , Tanaka Y, Roberts PLD , Jaffe JS. 2009. Copepod feeding quantified by planar laser imaging of gut fluorescence. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods. 7:33-41.