Person:

Weissburg, Marc J.

Permanent Link

https://hdl.handle.net/1853/71828

Associated Organization(s)

Organizational Unit

School of Biological Sciences

Full item page

Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 13

Chemical Encoding of Risk Perception and Predator Detection Among Estuarine Invertebrates Dataset

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2017-12-07) Poulin, Remington X. ; Lavoie, Serge ; Siegel, Katherine ; Gaul, David A. ; Weissburg, Marc J. ; Kubanek, Julia

The data files in "Archived PCA Spectra" and “Archived PLS-R Spectra” contain the unprocessed 1H NMR spectral data files underlying the publication " Chemical encoding of risk perception and predator detection among estuarine invertebrates."
You are what you eat: A combined metabolomics – bioassay approach to understanding prey responses to chemical cues produced by predators fed different diets dataset

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015-09-09) Weissburg, Marc J. ; Poulin, R.X. ; Kubanek, Julia
Peer J Consumption Data

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015-07-22) Weissburg, Marc J. ; Beauvais, Jeffrey

The data file contains the results of predation experiments on oyster spat by mud crabs in the presence of chemical cues produced by blue crabs fed differing amounts of mud crabs and placed different distances away. The treatment variables and levels consist of: Distance (0.25m, 0.5m, 1m, 1.5m, or 2m); Diet (High [H], Low [L], or Control [C]); and, Time (24, 48 hours). Date of experiment also is included. The measurement variables consist of Total Number Eaten, and Proportion Eaten Outside Refuge.
A Bio-inspired Plume Tracking Algorithm for Mobile Sensing Swarms in Turbulent Flow

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013-05) Chang, Dongsik ; Wu, Wencen ; Webster, Donald R. ; Weissburg, Marc J. ; Zhang, Fumin

We develop a plume tracking algorithm for a swarm of mobile sensing agents in turbulent flow. Inspired by blue crabs, we propose a stochastic model for plume spikes based on the Poisson counting process, which captures the turbulent characteristic of plumes. We then propose an approach to estimate the parameters of the spike model, and transform the turbulent plume field detected by sensing agents into a smoother scalar field that shares the same source with the plume field. This transformation allows us to design path planning algorithms for mobile sensing agents in the smoother field instead of in the turbulent plume field. Inspired by the source seeking behaviors of fish schools, we design a velocity controller for each mobile agent by decomposing the velocities into two perpendicular parts: the forward velocity incorporates feedback from the estimated spike parameters, and the side velocity keeps the swarm together. The combined velocity is then used to plan the path for each agent in the swarm. Theoretical justifications are provided for convergence of the agent group to the plume source. The algorithms are also demonstrated through simulations.
Acquisition of a research and teaching salt water flume at Priest Landing, GA.

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-12-31) Weissburg, Marc J. ; Webster, Donald R. ; Fritz, Hermann M.
The hydrodynamics of benthic predation

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010-08-30) Weissburg, Marc J. ; Webster, Donald R.
Learning About and Through Biologically Inspired Design

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008-06-22) Vattam, Swaroop ; Helms, Michael E. ; Goel, Ashok K. ; Yen, Jeannette ; Weissburg, Marc J.

Biologically inspired design (BID) uses biological systems as analogues to develop solutions for design problems. Although designers have been looking to nature for inspiration for eons, only recently is BID gaining in importance as a wide-spread movement in design for environmentally-conscious sustainable development (e.g., Benyus 1997). But it is the tendency of the “products” of BID to be radically innovative (Forbes 2005; French 1998; Vogel 2000) that makes BID an interesting case for research in design creativity.
Chemoreception in the salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis): an electrophysiology approach

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007-12-13) Fields, David M. ; Weissburg, Marc J. ; Browman, H. I.

The search for effective and long-term solutions to the problems caused by salmon lice Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer, 1837) has increasingly included biological/ecological mechanisms to combat infestation. One aspect of this work focuses on the host-associated stimuli that parasites use to locate and discriminate a compatible host. In this study we used electrophysiological recordings made directly from the antennule of adult lice to investigate the chemosensitivity of L salmonis to putative chemical attractants from fish flesh, prepared by soaking whole fish tissue in seawater. There was a clear physiological response to whole fish extract (WFX) with threshold sensitivity at a dilution of 10–4. When WFX was size fractionated, L. salmonis showed the greatest responses to the water-soluble fractions containing compounds between 1 and 10 kDa. The results suggest that the low molecular weight, water-soluble compounds found in salmon flesh may be important in salmon lice host choice.
Cue hierarchy and foraging in calanoid copepods: ecological implications of oceanographic structure

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007-01) Woodson, Clifton Brock ; Webster, Donald R. ; Weissburg, Marc J. ; Yen, Jeannette

Fine-scale water column structure was mimicked in a laboratory plane jet flume to examine responses of the calanoid copepods Temora longicornis and Acartia tonsa to layers consisting of a velocity gradient, density gradient, phytoplankton exudates and food (phytoplankton). Copepods were exposed to isolated layers and combinations of cues as defined by in situ conditions. Behaviors elicited by the velocity gradient and chemical exudate layers included increased swimming speed and turn frequency consistent with excited area-restricted search behavior, which led to increased proportional residence time in the layers. Both species had significant responses to isolated layers of velocity gradients and chemical exudates, with T. longicornis responding more intensely to chemical cues than velocity gradients and A. tonsa responding equally to both. Combined fluid mechanical and chemical cues elicited species-specific responses. For T. longicornis, chemical presence induced responses that strengthened or cancelled initial reactions to the velocity gradient. These results suggest a cue hierarchy where a velocity gradient acts as an initial cue for narrowing search regions, and chemical cues and food presence determine consequent responses. For A. tonsa, combining velocity gradient and chemical cues had the same effect on copepod behavior as the individual cues, which suggests both cues are equal sources of information but are not closely associated. In both species, physical contact with particles or cells initiated feeding behavior, resulting in lower swimming speeds. Fluid density had a potentially aversive effect, as neither species responded with an area-restricted search response and individuals rarely crossed a strong density gradient. Observed behaviors may lead to aggregation, especially when superimposed on rhythmic movements such as diel vertical migration.
Clamming up: environmental forces diminish the perceptive ability of bivalve prey

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006-06) Smee, Delbert L. ; Weissburg, Marc J.

The lethal and nonlethal impacts of predators in marine systems are often mediated via reciprocal detection of waterborne chemical signals between consumers and prey. Local flow environments can enhance or impair the chemoreception ability of consumers, but the effect of hydrodynamics on detection of predation risk by prey has not been investigated. Using clams as our model organism, we investigated two specific questions: (1) Can clams decrease their mortality by responding to predators? (2) Do fluid forces affect the ability of clams to detect approaching predators? Previous research has documented a decrease in clam feeding (pumping) in response to a neighboring predator. We determined the benefits of this behavior to survivorship by placing clams in the field with knobbed whelk or blue crab predators caged nearby and compared mortality between these clams and clams near a cage-only control. Significantly more clams survived in areas containing a caged predator, suggesting that predator-induced alterations in feeding reduce clam mortality in the field. We ascertained the effect of fluid forces on clam perception of predators in a laboratory flume by comparing the feeding (pumping) behavior of clams in response to crabs and whelks in flows of 3 and 11 cm/s. Clams pumped significantly less in the presence of predators, but their reaction to blue crabs diminished in the higher velocity flow, while their response to whelks remained constant in both flows. Thus, clam reactive distance to blue crabs was affected by fluid forces, but hydrodynamic effects on clam perceptive distance was predator specific. After predators were removed, clams exposed to whelks took significantly longer to resume feeding than those exposed to blue crabs. Our results suggest that prey perception of predators can be altered by physical forces. Prey detection of predators is the underlying mechanism for trait-mediated indirect interactions (TMIIs), and recent research has documented the importance of TMIIs to community structure. Since physical forces can influence prey perception, the prevalence of TMIIs in communities may, in part, be related to the sensory ability of prey, physical forces in the environment that impact sensory performance, and the type of predator detected.