Development of a custom-built stereo-imaging system for in situ zooplankton studies

In aquatic ecosystems, zooplankton serve as critical intermediaries between different food web trophic levels and regulate nutrient cycling. In situ behavioral observations of zooplankton and their connections with the environment they inhabit, e.g., prey capture/avoidance, aggregation/swarming dynamics and interactions with flow at different scales, are crucial to gain better insights into their ecology. However, this is a relatively underexplored area due to inherent challenges in capturing accurate in situ data. Here, we present a custom-built stereo-imaging system that facilitates characterization of meso- and macro-zooplankton communities in their natural habitats, including abundance, distribution and behavioral patterns. The system uses high-resolution monochrome cameras with Power over Ethernet (PoE) that allow for live observations and adaptive sampling in diverse aquatic environments. Laboratory validation confirmed that the overall coefficients of variation (CV) are less than 2%, indicating consistent and reliable depth measurement performance. Sample results from different field observations will highlight the capabilities of the system in providing individual and group metrics, including but not limited to, swimming speeds and acceleration, swarm density, nearest neighbor distances (NND), orientation and polarization order. This framework offers valuable insights into complex behavioral patterns, social interactions, and predator-prey dynamics, highlighting how future applications in targeted studies could enhance our understanding of zooplankton ecology.

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Primary Presenter: Aditya Nayak, Florida Atlantic University (aditya.nayak@gmail.com)

Authors:

Sumit Dass, Florida Atlantic University  (dasss@fau.edu)

Alexis Base, Florida Atlantic University  (abase2015@fau.edu)

Karuna Agarwal, Florida Atlantic University  (kagarwal@fau.edu)

Aditya Nayak, Florida Atlantic University  (anayak@fau.edu)