Alveolates exhibit many swimming and feeding behaviors via complex cellular mechanisms, stimulated by mechanical and chemical cues. The behavior of these predators have great impacts on algae blooms, nutrient regeneration, and marine ecosystems (1). Algae, a prey item for these organisms, make up a large portion of primary producers on Earth, creating half of the world's oxygen (2), making alveolate grazers one of the essential and most important primary consumers of the world. Marine ciliates in particular have evolved to exhibit complex mechanisms to select prey and avoid predation, and can consume up to half of the photoautotrophs in the ocean (1). Ciliates can be eaten by a wide range of zooplankton and encounter many different environments, which shapes their behavior during feeding and swimming. This allows them to avoid toxic prey, unfavorable conditions, and predators; however, the underlying methods of preferential feeding and swimming behavior is largely unknown.  In order to predict algae bloom formation and the dynamics of trophic regulation, the mechanisms behind ciliate sensory pathways need to be determined. There is a need to understand how alveolates regulate the ocean's primary oxygen producers, which also act as carbon sinks, in order to develop responses to potential dangers. We will examine the relationship between feeding physiology and environmental cues within the trophic ecology of marine phytoplankton.

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1. Sherr, E.B. & Sherr, B.F. Significance of predation by protists in aquatic microbial food webs. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 81, 293-308 (2002).

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2. Jeon, H.J. et al. Reduction in the toxicity of the dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum when fed on by the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Polykrikos kofoidii. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 31, 307-312 (2003)