Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

PC10 Ecological Fluxes: Organisms, Atmospheres, Oceans, Lakes, and Rivers

Date: Wednesday, February 14, 2001

Location: Southwest Hall

Wilson, S, E, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Marine Sciences Research Center, Stony Brook, N.Y., USA, sewilson@ic.sunysb.edu

Yen, J, , Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biology, Atlanta, GA. , USA, jeannette.yen@biology.gatech.edu

PREDATOR-PREY INTERACTIONS IN THE PLANKTON: ESCAPE RESPONSES OF THREE CALANOID COPEPODS FROM A JUVENILE FISH

The escape by a copepod from a fish predator has life or death consequences. As a survival strategy, copepods have adapted mechanisms that improve the efficiency of the escape behavior. Mechanoreceptors on the first antennae of calanoid copepods are able to detect water deformations from the advancing predator, eliciting a high-speed escape response. Escape profiles were analyzed for Acartia tonsa, Temora longicornis and Calanus pacificus males and females. Velocity profiles were able to show individual hop durations and patterns. Differences in mechanosensitivity and escape reactions between males and females for the three species will be addressed. A positive relationship was found between fish attack speeds and Acartia escape speeds, suggesting that an effort is made to conserve energy in the costly escape maneuver. These observations were accomplished using 3-D videography combined with high-speed imaging using a Schlieren optical system.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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