Master project opportunity in the Signals in the Sea group, Aquatic Ecology
Probably everyone with an interest in natural sciences have at some point asked themselves why insects are attracted to point light sources. In fact, even people seemingly without an interest in natural sciences frequently ask why organisms do that. For insects there are some more, and some less, compelling solutions proposed, but none of them explain the very general attraction of aquatic organisms to point light sources. In this project you will investigate a new hypothesis, potentially explaining why so many marine and limnic organisms are strongly attracted to point light sources. The project will be a combination of field sampling, lab experiments, and motion analysis of swimming organisms in response to simulated light regimes. We also have access to large amounts of field data from autonomous vehicles with acoustic instrumentation that detect the motion of pelagic organisms in relation to the above light regime.
Well played you may end up solving an ancient enigma 😊
For more information contact Erik Sealander: erik.selander@biol.lu.se