Project Grant 2139767

This three-year, $627,543 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) will support research at the Marine Biological Laboratory to elucidate the mechanisms underlying circatidal rhythms in the coastal crustacean Parhyale hawaiensis. The researchers will investigate how P. hawaiensis uses environmental cues like water levels and turbulence to synchronize its behavior with tidal cycles. They will identify genes controlling the organism's circatidal clock and determine which physiological processes are under its control. The work is expected to advance understanding of how animals adapt to ever-changing water levels and tidal oscillations. Undergraduate students from underrepresented minority groups will engage in the research through the NSF-supported "Biological Discovery in Woods Hole" program. A "Chronobiology Club" will also be created to expose local high school students from underrepresented groups to research in biological timing.