Trophic impacts of gelatinous organisms
Gelatinous organisms are important and understudied parts of marine food webs. We are using a variety of methods in the lab and field to better understand how morphology affects feeding in these organisms. This image is an example of a partial reconstruction from a 3D scan of the siphonophore Nanomia bijuga, showing the arrangement of tentilla, structures that Nanomia uses to capture its crustacean prey. Click the image to open an animation or read more here.
Oyster larvae
Oyster reefs are crucial to coastal ecosystems. Growth of oyster reefs depends on recruitment of planktonic larvae, but oyster larvae are notoriously difficult to study due to low abundances and patchy distributions. We are testing an imaging based method for surveying oyster larval abundance. We hope to link larval abundances with settlement and adult population data to assess reef health, the viability of existing artificial reef projects, and the potential for successful creation of artificial reefs.
Diatom sinking
Diatoms are important contributors to global carbon fixation, and sinking is a major carbon sink. Although diatoms are unicellular and are unable to swim, they have a remarkable ability to control their sinking speeds on very short time scales, which includes an unsteady sinking behavior in which they rapidly oscillate their sinking speeds within seconds.
Shark swimming
Fluid dynamics affects how marine organisms as diverse as lampreys, siphonophores, and mako sharks swim. This image shows how a mako shark’s scales rapidly bristles in turbulent flow, reducing blackflow and drag.
Suspension feeding
Benthic suspension feeders like bivalves and tunicates concentrate carbon and nutrients from the water column and transport it to the sea floor. We study how fluid dynamics affects and limits suspension feeding. For example, the suspension feeding rates of the juvenile Mya arenaria clam shown in this time stacked particle image are limited by the size of its inhalant siphon opening
