Diodogorgia Research
Today I am doing the last of the lowest speed (=2 cm/sec) feeding trials, although I still will have to some movie making at that speed, probably on Sunday and/or Monday. Then I will duplicate my earlier series of feeding tests at 32 cm/sec. I have modified my protocol slightly and to make sure that the data are “spotlessly clean,” I need to revisit this run. Given that it appears that specimen F-1 that I have using in the low speed trials appears to be effectively unable to feed at those low velocities, I will give it a break and put in the high speed runs.
If anything could make that critter happy, that ought to do it, because I think it will - as the saying goes - “pig out.” :-) It really appears that not only can the animals not feed at these low velocities, they do “try” to feed, and thus they expend energy for no net gain. It really is not my intent to torture the animals, so I will at least let this one feed well during these next trials.
When I get done with all of the feeding trials, then I will start the data analyses in earnest, and let me tell you, I am anxious to do so!!!! I want to see how good (or how bad) my data are. I think they will be really good, but if they are not, I want to know so I can make what corrections I can, by perhaps testing over.
Feeding Movies
I will also start really going through my feeding movies and quantifying the images. I will noting such things as the number of times the filmed polyps get impacted by a nauplius, and then how many times this results in a successful feeding event. Also, how many times some other items, such as Artemia cysts are rejected as food. I don’t think there will be any movies that show cysts being eaten. Down the line a bit, I will be testing feeding using three food items, hatched Artemia cysts, unhatched but hydrated cysts and nauplii. My guess, after watching the animals so far, is that only the nauplii will be eaten. Given that some previous researchers have used Artemia cysts as potential food items in feeding trials, I think it will be really interesting to show that at least this species will not eat them. There are obviously implications to that!
Additionally, I need to describe the feeding events, one might say, on a tentacle-by-tentacle basis. In other words, “Just exactly how do these animals capture prey?” As near as I can tell, this has never been documented with any gorgonian. Nobody else has really gotten as down close and personal as I have. I find this both appalling and fortunate. Fortunate, as it gives me pretty much free rein as the first person to look at them. But, given how abundant they are in some ecosystems, it is truly ridiculous that nobody has taken a peak between the pinnules, so to speak.
Publication
Or at least an attempt thereof will follow later this autumn. I am in a really funny position. I am doing this work essentially in isolation, even though I am discussing it here and it is available throughout the blogosphere - if any other researchers cared to look; however I really doubt any have. In any case, I am doing this work without any feedback by anybody who could be considered to be a peer. So, there is a possibility that I am going off down the proverbial garden path…
Obviously, I don’t think I am. Nontheless, I am somewhat worried that I am neglecting some part of the organism’s biology that I have overlooked. That could be very embarrassing. Oh well, I have no pride left anyhow, so I will give it all a shot. The worst that can happen is that I will be told that what I have found is not worth wasting ink to publish.
At this point, though, my rather substantial ego kicks in and says…. “Wait a minute! You have done the library research and you have done laboratory research before with good results. And you are no dummy. What you have found is valid and worth publishing, so go for it.”
Never one to turn my back on my ego… I will go for it.
More later,
Until then,
Cheers!!!