NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute for FY 2012 in Japan

Hundt Peter J, St. Paul MN

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds Peter Joseph Hundt of the University of Minnesota to conduct a research project, entitled "Assessing diet of a nearshore marine fish (Teleostei: Blenniidae) from two ecosystems in Japan," during the summer of 2012 at Kochi University in Kochi, Japan. The host scientists are Dr. Kosaku Yamaoka and Dr. Yohei Nakamura. The Intellectual Merit of the research project is furthering knowledge of what organisms eat, how they obtain it, and implications on evolutionary history. An excellent group to study the evolution of these interactions is the perciform family Blenniidae. This group of diminutive near-shore marine fishes exhibits the widest array of oral tooth and jaw morphologies in any group of perciform fishes; including teeth that widely vary in shape, number, and mode of attachment and replacement and a lower jaw that has an extra articulation. The diet of many blennies is poorly known, yet is important for understanding the evolution of trophic specialization. This research on the diet study of blennies (Teleostei: Blenniidae) from two different ecosystems in Japan promises to provide the following: 1) the first description of diet for some blenny species, 2) additional information on some previously studied species, and 3) a test of hypotheses using diet in conjunction with morphological and molecular data about evolution and correlation of the diet and feeding morphologies of blennies. Broader Impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce.