Coupling Behavior and Vertical Distribution of Pteropods in Coastal Waters using Data from the Video Plankton Recorder.

摘要

My long-term goal is to understand the biological and physical mechanisms controlling plankton distributions in coastal waters though a combination of in situ observations, experimental manipulations in the laboratory, and numerical simulations of the interaction between plankton behavior and physical gradients. My objective in this project is to test the hypothesis that the vertical distribution of the pteropod Limacina retroversa (Pteropoda, Thecosomata) over its ontogeny is predictable as a function of light, temperature, salinity, food concentration, stratification and mixing intensity. Limacina retroversa is an ideal model organism for studies in population dynamics because it has a short two-year life span, swims and sinks in the vertical dimension only, and it has a limited behavioral repertoire.