Predation is a fundamental interaction between organisms that shapes community structure and has a direct effect on fitness. This award will support studies on the sensory and motor systems that determine a prey fish's survival. This will be achieved through experimentation and mathematical models of sensory cues and the 'fast start' escape maneuver of prey. The proposed research will (1) reveal the dynamics that govern the sensory and motor systems of prey fish, (2) establish zebrafish as a model for predator-prey interactions, and (3) enhance integration of computational and experimental approaches in organismal research.
This work will focus on larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) in three lines of investigation. The flow stimuli that trigger and direct the fast start will be studied experimentally by replicating a predator's approach with a robotic predator. Analysis of how propulsion directs a fast-start escape maneuver will be achieved by measuring the escape responses of larvae in 3D and computationally modeling the hydrodynamics of propulsion. The efficacy of flow sensing and fast start responses will be addressed by recording the three-dimensional motion of predators and prey as they interact and by modeling the sensory and motor systems of the prey under these conditions. In addition to data from experiments, the investigators will advance the quantitative tools of organismal biologists by (1) developing an on-line course in biological computer programming in Matlab, (2) training graduate students in computational modeling, (3) participating in programs that recruit minority undergraduate researchers, and (4) developing analytical tools for the analysis and modeling of animal motion. Results from the studies will be published in peer-reviewed journals and shared through on-line data repositories (e.g., http://datadryad.org/).
