This is a collaborative ocean sciences instrumentation development project project with investigators from the University of California- Los Angeles. Its objective is to test and evaluate the usefulness of newly available instrumentation to study the adaptive schooling behavior of individuals within schools or groups of pelagic organisms. Original and rigorous mathematical analysis of schooling behavior will be tested by using digital data output from modern 3-dimensional video-graphic systems and applying this data to 3-D mathematical models developed for x-ray crystallographic studies. Hamner, who is an accomplished behavioral biologist, and his associates at UCLA will purchase a 3-D videographic system with an integrated data analysis and display capability. The system's specialized cameras will be modified for underwater use. Initial video work will be done in a large aquarium but eventual use with schooling organisms in the open ocean is planned. Prewitt, who is an skilled crystallographer at Carnegie will acquire a compatible computer graphic workstation and modify existing software for 3-D videography and automated image motion analysis for use with Hamner's data. They will collaborate to develop mathematical models and computational protocols to analyze and study schooling and behavioral patterns. X-ray crystallography is the discipline that studies the geometrical relationships of atoms, ions, or molecules within crystals. Their geometry may be static or dynamic, random or structured. Statistical analyses have been developed to describe these relationships. Animals also congregate in non-random, dynamic structures such as fish schools. X-ray crystallographic technology and statistical analysis methods may be transferable to biological sciences to better understand the dynamics and adaptive strategies of schooling behavior in fish and other organisms. Should the transfer of technologies between these different fields be successful, not only will there be a positive impact on ecological and behavioral studies, but other areas of ocean sciences that analyze distances in three-dimensional space.
