View source for EcoSCOPE

{{original research|date=December 2009}}
{{essay|date=December 2009}}

[[Image:Juvenile Clupea harengus feeding on copepods macrophotography video.gif|thumb|300px|right|Video (50%, looping, each image shifted to compensate the rolling microturbulences from the waves) of feeding juvenile herring (38 mm) on copepods - the fish approach from below and catch each copepod individually. In the middle of the image a copepod escapes successfully to the left.]]
The '''ecoSCOPE''' is an optical sensor system, deployed from a small remotely operated vehicle ([[Remotely operated underwater vehicle|ROV]]) or fibre optic cable, to investigate [[behavior]] and microdistribution of small organisms in the ocean.

==Deployment==
Although an ROV may be very small and quiet, it is impossible to approach feeding [[Atlantic herring|herring]] closer than 40&nbsp;cm. The ecoSCOPE allows observation of feeding herring from a distance of only 4&nbsp;cm. From 40&nbsp;cm, the herrings' prey ([[copepod]]s) in front of the herring are invisible due to the [[Deflection (physics)|deflection]] of light by [[phytoplankton]] 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]]s (2 ms, 100% relative intensity at 700&nbsp;nm, 53% at 690&nbsp;nm, 22% at 680&nbsp;nm, 4% at 660&nbsp;nm, 0% at 642&nbsp;nm).

By imitating the long, thin snout of the [[garfish]] protruding into the security sphere of the alert herrings, an [[endoscope]] with a tip diameter of 11&nbsp;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]].

An ecoSCOPE was also deployed to measure the dynamics of particles in a polluted estuary: see image on [[Particle (ecology)]], another as an underwater [[environmental monitoring]] system, utilizing the orientation capacity of juvenile glass eels.

<gallery>
Image:Krillspitballkils3.jpg|''In situ'' image of feeding [[Antarctic krill]]. Visible is a green spit ball and a green fecal string, important components of the [[biological pump]]. 
Image:ECORAN42.JPG|The little tube extending from the nose is visible
Image:Filterkrillkils2.gif|Filter feeding of Antarctic krill, slowed to 1/12th of actual speed
</gallery>

==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.

[[Image:Ecoscopeu.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The twelve exits on the sides and the entrance in the middle, in front of a CD for comparison]]
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]]).  It flows through a small [[labyrinth]] and mixes in the central chamber. It exits through a small tube in the middle. The glass eels 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.
[[Image:ECORAN32.JPG|thumb|300px|right|Detail of the mixing chamber - Closeup on the migrating glass eels. Visible through the transparent skin are the gills and the heart]]
It is the opinion of many scientists that [[eel]]s have developed the finest [[nose]] on the planet. They can sense [[concentration]]s of one part in 19 [[1000000000000 (number)|trillion]]. This is the same concentration as one glass of alcohol in the waters of all America's [[Great Lakes]]. 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 glass eels 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]] and its effect on fish and plankton behavior in [[Europe]] and the United States). For the future it is anticipated to deploy {{proper name|ecoSCOPEs}} continuously online, within the project [[Longterm Ecological Observatory|LEO]] Projekt off [[New York City]], 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]].

<gallery>
Image:Aureliaauritakils3.jpg|''In situ'' image of the fibres of an [[Aurelia aurita]] from the [[Baltic Sea]] showing a prey item, probably a copepod pulled to the body by contracting the fibres in a corkscrew fashion.
Image:Clupeaharenguslarvaeinsitukils.jpg|Very young larvae of [[Atlantic herring]] in the typical oblique swimming position - the animal in the upper right in the classical S-shape of the beginning phase of an attack of probably a [[copepod]] - the remains of the [[yolk]] is very well visible in the transparent animal in the middle
Image:rostrataluk.jpg|Glass eel on the online ''in situ'' microscope at the [[Longterm Ecological Observatory|LEO]] project.
Image:Glasseelkils.gif|Glass eel at the transition from ocean to freshwater; the freshwater flows from the left to the right. Glass eels are extremely difficult to image because they are transparent; see [[eel life history]]. 
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[American eel]]
*[[Eel life history]]

==References==
* Cury PM (2004) [http://www.mpl.ird.fr/ci/ecoscope/site_statique/docs_aqp/pdf_aqp/00E.articleMEPS_tuning.pdf "Tuning the ecoscope for the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries : Perspectives on eco-system-based approaches to the management of marine resources"] ''Marine ecology'', '''274''': 272-275.
* Julien B, Philippe C, Pascal C and Pierre C (2008) [https://web.archive.org/web/20120330122747/http://hnodc.hcmr.gr/imdis-2008/IMDIS_Presentations/Session_1/barde_Ecoscope_IMDIS.pdf "Safeguarding, Integrating and Disseminating Knowledge on Exploited Marine Ecosystems: The Ecoscope"] International Marine Data and Information Systems, IMDIS - 2008.
* [[Uwe Kils|Kils, U]] (1992) [http://www.ecoscope.com/ecos_t_1.htm  "The ecoSCOPE and dynIMAGE: Microscale Tools for ''in situ'' Studies of Predator Prey Interaction"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080221121942/http://www.ecoscope.com/ecos_t_1.htm |date=2008-02-21 }}, ''Archiv für Hydrobiologie'', Beihefte '''36''': 83-96.
* Kils, U (1994) {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20081122052935/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/4943 The 3-D ecoSCOPE: A tool for investigating microdynamics and microdistributions"]}} In: M DeLuca (ed) ''Diving for Science...1994'' Proceedings of the 14th Annual Scientific Diving Symposium, [[American Academy of Underwater Sciences]]. New Brunswick, New Jersey.
* Ulanowicz RE (1993) "Inventing the ecoscope", In [[Villy Christensen|V. Christensen]] and [[Daniel Pauly|D. Pauly]] (eds) [https://books.google.com/books?id=eIMQJ0LDahEC ''Trophic models of aquatic ecosystems''], ICLARM Conf. Proc. '''26''': ix-x.

== External links ==
* [https://archive.today/20130414145135/http://www.ecoscope.org/ The Ecoscope Project]
* [http://www.zuckerspeicher.de/ecoscope/presiden.htm Visit of President of Germany to Kiel laboratory]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, the first propototype of the EcoSCOPE is visible in the picture, hanging from the roof.

{{fishery science topics|expanded=science}}

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[[Category:Optical devices]]
[[Category:Marine biology]]
[[Category:Fisheries science]]