简介:Many marine organisms have complex life histories, having sessile
adults and relying on the planktonic larvae for dispersal. Larvae swim
and disperse in a complex fluid environment and the effect of ambient
flow on la简介:Many marine organisms have complex life histories, having sessile
adults and relying on the planktonic larvae for dispersal. Larvae swim
and disperse in a complex fluid environment and the effect of ambient
flow on larval behavior could in turn impact their survival and transport.
However, to date, most studies on larvae–flow interactions have
focused on competent larvae near settlement. We examined the
importance of flow on early larval stages by studying how local flow and
ontogeny influence swimming behavior in pre-competent larval sea
urchins, Arbacia punctulata. We exposed larval urchins to grid-stirred
turbulence and recorded their behavior at two stages (4- and 6-armed
plutei) in three turbulence regimes. Using particle image velocimetry to
quantify and subtract local flow, we tested the hypothesis that larvae
respond to turbulence by increasing swimming speed, and that the
increase varies with ontogeny.详细>