J. Rudi Strickler Shaw Distinguished Professor Dr.sc.nat. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - Zurich, Switzerland 1969	Office:Lapham 552 Phone: 414-229-6806 CGLS: 414-382-1740 FAX: 414-229-3926 Email: jrsu@wm.edu Personal Homepage Electronic Reserve Materials:
Zooplankton

Research Interests

Since 1965 the trademark of the work from the laboratory of J. Rudi Strickler has been the direct observation of the swimming and feeding performances of small aquatic animals. Most studies are conducted in the laboratory using sophisticated optical equipment. The results from the research were astonishing and induced several paradigm shifts in the perception of aquatic life and its ecology. Until 1975 diapause in zooplankters was thought of as avoiding harsh environmental conditions. Based on studies of the predator - prey relationships between copepods Strickler and Twombly (1975) concluded that diapause may also function as a predator-avoidance adaptation. Similarly, a closer look at the feeding mechanisms in calanoid copepods changed and advanced our perception of the first principles involved in the capturing of algae by aquatic herbivores (Alcaraz et al. 1980; Koehl and Strickler 1981; Strickler 1982, 1984, 1985). Recently, studies of feeding performances in calanoid copepods suspended in turbulent waters have revealed complex relationships between the encounter rate with food and the misinterpretation of signals perceived by the mechanoreceptors (Costello et al. 1990; Marrase et al. 1990). Research has also focused on the mathematical treatment of the observations. Bundy et al. (1993) observed calanoids swimming in three-dimensional space; Keiyu et al. (1994) introduced Artificial Intelligence models to express the swimming paths in terms of the underlying motivations and energetic needs and restrictions of the animals.

Selected Publicatons

For the Publication list, please click on http://www.uwm.edu/~jrs/PUBLICATIONS.pdf