Project PIs:
Single-celled marine algae are especially chemically rich, producing toxins that kill fish, marine mammals, and seabirds, contaminate shellfish, and threaten human health. Many predators of these algae – copepods – selectively consume less toxic algae, which in turn sense copepods via an excreted blend of copepod-specific molecules. These algae then become up to 20X more toxic when they sense copepod cues in the open ocean. This project will develop an understanding of the regulation of algal toxicity by copepods, from molecules to receptors to cells to animals to the open ocean, integrating approaches involving molecular biology, metabolomics, microbiology, animal behavior, and fluid dynamics.
