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Note to Prospective Students The MADL is a dynamic lab and research currently underway spans from ecology and ecophysiology to molecular genetics and genomics. There are often openings for different types of positions ranging from post-doctoral positions to high school internships. We encourage you to carefully review the information available on this website before contacting our faculty to ensure that your are aware of the diversity of our projects and to help you identify an area of interest.
Position currently open at MADL: (other positions are also available, please carefully visit our faculty pages for more information) Research Assistant Position (MS level) funded by the NSF (2 years) Particle selection mechanisms in suspension-feeding mollusks. Short Introduction: Bivalve mollusks are among the most important members of benthic communities, both for their environmental impacts and commercial value. To enhance the nutritive value of consumed particles and to optimize energy gain, several suspension feeding bivalves are able to select food, typically by passing the water over their gills and, from it, straining suspended matter and food particles. Through this mechanism, suspension feeders preferentially ingest particles of interest while undesirable particles are rejected in pseudofeces. Although many bivalve mollusks can select among different types of particulate matter, the criteria used to differentiate between particles remain undefined . Among several theories, several studies, including our preliminary results, have supported the idea that bivalves can use chemical cues to discriminate among particles. This study will address long-standing questions regarding mechanism(s) by which bivalves and other suspension-feeding mollusks accomplish particle selection. Overall objectives : Particle selection will be examined in suspension feeding mollusks using techniques developed previously for this important group of invertebrates (e.g., flow-cytometry, selection bioassays). For the first time, the bases of selection at the cell and organ level will be probed to elucidate mechanisms by which these suspension feeders discriminate among particles. At the core of this research are two fundamental questions: 1) Is particle selection an active process, i.e., based on chemically mediated behavior, or a passive process, i.e., based on interactions between particles and mucus-coated feeding structures?; and 2) Do different groups of suspension-feeding mollusks, representing the three major gill types of bivalves and one abundant suspension-feeding gastropod, employ the same or different mechanisms for particle discrimination? This project, which is based on our preliminary data, will use two lines of research to investigate mechanisms involved in the selection process: • Investigate whether mucus covering pallial organs mediate selection, and • Manipulate particle surfaces to determine if selection is a function of surface properties and determine if there are patterns in the types of particles that are accepted versus rejected. Application: This study represents an excellent opportunity for a MS research project. Experience with shellfish and/or in proteomics preferred, but the project is accessible to any student with good biology background. For more information, contact Dr. Emmanuelle Pales Espinosa at epalesespino@notes.cc.sunysb.edu ) or Dr Bassem Allam at bassem.allam@stonybrook.edu ), phone: 632 8745. |
