EcoSCOPE
Encyclopedia
Rov
Rov is a Talmudic concept which means the majority.It is based on the passage in Exodus 23;2: "after the majority to wrest" , which in Rabbinic interpretation means, that you shall accept things as the majority....
) or fibre optic cable, to investigate behavior
Behavior
Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with its environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment...
and microdistribution of small organisms in the ocean.
Deployment
Although an ROV may be very small and quiet, it is impossible to approach feeding herringAtlantic herring
Atlantic herring is a fish in the family Clupeidae. It is one of the most abundant fish species on earth. Herring can be found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, congregating in large schools. They can grow up to in length and weigh more than...
closer than 40 cm. The ecoSCOPE allows observation of feeding herring from a distance of only 4 cm. From 40 cm, the herrings' prey (copepod
Copepod
Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in the sea and nearly every freshwater habitat. Some species are planktonic , some are benthic , and some continental species may live in limno-terrestrial habitats and other wet terrestrial places, such as swamps, under leaf fall in wet forests,...
s) in front of the herring are invisible due to the deflection
Deflection
Deflection or deflexion may refer to:* Deflection , the displacement of a structural element under load* Deflection , a technique of shooting ahead of a moving target so that the target and projectile will collide...
of light by phytoplankton
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton community. The name comes from the Greek words φυτόν , meaning "plant", and πλαγκτός , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter". Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye...
and microparticles in highly productive waters where herring live. With the ecoSCOPE, the predators are illuminated by natural light, the prey by a light sheet, projected via a second endoscope from strobed LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
s (2 ms, 100% relative intensity at 700 nm, 53% at 690 nm, 22% at 680 nm, 4% at 660 nm, 0% at 642 nm).
By imitating the long, thin snout of the garfish
Garfish
The garfish , or sea needle, is a pelagic, oceanodromous needlefish found in brackish and marine waters of the Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic Sea, etc. The fish lives close to the surface and has a migratory pattern similar to that of the mackerel, arriving a short time before...
protruding into the security sphere of the alert herrings, an endoscope with a tip diameter of 11 mm is used. The endoscope is camouflaged to reduce the brightness-contrast against the background: the top is black and the sides are silvery. Additionally, the front of the ROV is covered by a mirror, reflecting a light gradient resembling the natural scene and making the instrument body virtually invisible to the animals. A second sensor images other copepods, phytoplankton and particles at very high magnification. Another advantage of these small "optical probes" is the minimal disruption of the current-field in the measuring volume, allowing for less disturbed surveys of microturbulence and shear.
Another video can be seen in the article for Atlantic herring
Atlantic herring
Atlantic herring is a fish in the family Clupeidae. It is one of the most abundant fish species on earth. Herring can be found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, congregating in large schools. They can grow up to in length and weigh more than...
.
An ecoSCOPE was also deployed to measure the dynamics of particles in a polluted estuary: see image on Particle (ecology)
Particle (ecology)
In marine and freshwater ecology, a particle is a small object. Particles can remain in suspension in the ocean or freshwater, however they eventually settle and accumulate as sediment. Some can enter the atmosphere through wave action where they can act as cloud condensation nuclei...
, another as an underwater environmental monitoring system, utilizing the orientation capacity of juvenile glasseel.
Specifications
The ecoSCOPE is a product of the new initiative of "Ocean Online Biosensors": a synthesis of IT-sensoric and the sensing capability of ocean organisms.Depicted in the image on the right is the central unit. On all four corners are small entrances, through which water from different sources enters (in this case, rivers and creeks in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
). It flows through a small labyrinth
Labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos...
and mixes in the central chamber. It exits through a small tube in the middle. The glasseels migrate through this small tube heading into the current. In the middle is the entrance for the eels. They test the different water qualities and migrate toward the corner, where they exit.
It is the opinion of many scientists that eel
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
s have developed the finest nose
Nose
Anatomically, a nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which admit and expel air for respiration in conjunction with the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next passes through the pharynx, shared with the...
on the planet. They can sense concentration
Concentration
In chemistry, concentration is defined as the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Four types can be distinguished: mass concentration, molar concentration, number concentration, and volume concentration...
s of one part in 19 trillion. This is the same concentration as one glass of alcohol in the waters of all America's Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. For the eels the sensory impressions are probably as diverse as the colors visible for us.
The system is submerged, and a digital camera observes the exits. The dynIMAGE software monitors the frequency of decisions per exit. Many thousand of glasseels pass through the system on a single day. The three exits in the left lower corner carry water from polluted sources (one is a drinking water reservoir).
EcoSCOPE systems have already been tracking water pollution
Water pollution
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....
and its effect on fish and plankton behavior in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the USA). For the future it is anticipated to deploy ecoSCOPEs continuously online, within the project LEO Projekt off New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, visible for the public. Tests have also been performed with different qualities of drinking water and with solutions of runoff juice from different samples of fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
.
External links
- The Ecoscope Project
- Visit of President of Germany to Kiel laboratory, the first propototype of the EcoSCOPE is visible in the picture, hanging from the roof.