Ciliate escape response micro-PIV videos collected in the North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico from 2011-2014 (Protist Behavior and Imposed Flow project)
Project
| Contributors | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Buskey, Edward J. | University of Texas - Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) | Principal Investigator |
| Gemmell, Brad J. | University of South Florida (USF) | Contact |
| Copley, Nancy | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI BCO-DMO) | BCO-DMO Data Manager |
Related Reference:
Gemmell et al. 2015. A tale of the ciliate tail: investigation into the adaptive significance of this sub-cellular structure. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 282 (1812) DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.0770
Related Datasets:
Ciliate PIV data
Ciliate PIV data: Fig 3-RSBP
BCO-DMO Processing:
Downloaded .avi files from Dryad [2016-01-25]
| File |
|---|
PIV_ciliate_videos_RSBP_2015.csv (Comma Separated Values (.csv), 474 bytes) MD5:fc00b7cb9883a9253a7f68eb43a89daa Primary data file for dataset ID 636406 |
| Parameter | Description | Units |
| fig | Figure number citing the video: Gemmell et al (2015) RSBP | unitless |
| description | Description of PIV video subject | unitless |
| fps_playback | frames per second during playback | frames per second |
| file_size_MB | size of video file | megabytes |
| file_link | link to the video file | unitless |
| Dataset-specific Instrument Name | |
| Generic Instrument Name | Camera |
| Dataset-specific Description | Photron SA6 high-speed camera with a 150W fiber optic illuminator (Fisher Scientific) |
| Generic Instrument Description | All types of photographic equipment including stills, video, film and digital systems. |
Linking Propulsive Morphology, Swimming Behavior and Sensory Perception by Marine Planktonic Protists to their Trophic Roles within Marine Food Webs (Protist Behavior and Imposed Flow)
Description from NSF award abstract:
One of the central issues in biological oceanography is to understand the processes that regulate the biomass and distribution of phytoplankton in the ocean. The fate of most phytoplankton is to be consumed by grazers, and it is now generally accepted that marine planktonic protists are the most important grazers on phytoplankton, and that grazing by protists can fundamentally affect phytoplankton biomass and distribution in the ocean. Protists can become temporarily very abundant (up to tens of thousands per liter) and can grow nearly as rapidly as phytoplankton do, which gives them great potential to regulate phytoplankton populations. Adaptations by protists to feed selectively on the fastest growing species of phytoplankton and to reduce predation by metazoan zooplankton should enhance the coupling between phytoplankton growth and grazing, and therefore promote planktonic ecosystem stability. Compared to larger metazoan zooplankton such as copepods, relatively little is known about the morphological and behavioral adaptations in protists for selective feeding and predator avoidance.
The PIs will study details of selective feeding behavior and predator avoidance behavior of free-swimming planktonic protists in 3-dimension using high-speed video. Under the same conditions, they will measure flow fields imposed by individual free-swimming protists using a time-resolving stereo micro-particle image velocimetry (microPIV) system. To gain a mechanistic understanding, they will also conduct empirical data-driven, reality-reproducing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of the protist-imposed flow fields. The results will be used to test the hypothesis that diversity and flexibility in propulsive morphology facilitates protists to achieve sophisticated swimming behaviors and sensory perception capabilities that adapt them for selective feeding and predator avoidance. These capabilities may also serve as important driving forces for protistan biodiversity, represented by various sizes, shapes, propulsive morphologies and motility patterns.
| Funding Source | Award |
|---|---|
| NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) |
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