Funding is provided to the Dept. of Biology at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) for the acquisition of equipment to establish a facility for high resolution video analysis of biological systems. The equipment consists of an inverted light microscope with attachments for making video images, and a computerized motion analysis system for quantifying cell movement, ciliary feeding mechanisms, and predator-prey interactions in a variety of marine organisms. Recent studies have underscored the fact that the flow of energy in marine ecosystems is greatly influenced by cell-to-cell interactions of plankton, and that several "classical concepts" regarding the role of plankton in the marine food chain are being reevaluated as are methods of studying plankton. Traditional methods of working with preserved specimens are no longer considered adequate to assess the complex interactions of organisms within a population. Aquisition of the proposed video equipment will assist WHOI investigators study and better understand the physiological, behavioral, and ecological principles that affect trophic interaction in the marine food chain.
