The Research Improvement in Minority Institutions (RIMI) program was established to provide support to strengthen the research environments and capabilities of predominantly minority institutions or institutions that have substantial minority student populations. Eligible institutions must also have graduate programs in science or programs in engineering. Funding is provided for faculty research in fields of science and engineering supported by the Foundation and for the acquisition of research instrumentation. The University of Maryland - Eastern Shore (UMES) will use RIMI support to study the influence of sensory and morphological characteristics on the feeding habits of Portunid and Cancrid crabs. The foraging behaviors and sensory mechanisms involved in discriminating among prey items are poorly understood in these animals. One phase of the study will analyze how the crabs detect prey and judge prey quality. Another phase will examine the relationship between handling time and prey selection, including effects of claw morphology, and microhabitat (position on the bottom), on prey selection. Researchers at UMES will use state of the art data collecting and analysis instrumentation to collect real time data on the behavior of three crab species. The principal investigator has many years of research experience with marine organisms, especially crustacea. The Foundation has supported this project because minorities will have opportunities to participate in meritorious marine research, and area where very few minorities choose careers.
