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MEAM Seminar: “Propulsive Advantages of Coordinating Multiple Jets by Colonial Marine Organisms”
October 15 at 10:15 AM - 11:15 AM
Salps and siphonophores are widespread marine animals that occur in centimeters to meters-long colonial chains and employ multiple, pulsed swimming jets. We use a combination of approaches including in situ and lab experiments, flow visualizations and custom high-speed camera systems to understand the morphology, kinematics and fluid mechanics that underpin efficient movement in these colonial chains. Our results over the past decade show that: 1) kinematics drive effective fluid refill and maneuverability, 2) coordination among swimming units produces different swimming modes and enhances efficiency and, 3) diverse colony architectures give rise to a range of performance solutions. Colonial salps and siphonophores are a model system for understanding structure-fluid interactions in multi-jet locomotion. Our studies using 3D videography in the ocean will hopefully further our understanding of coordinated pulsed jets, and elucidate design principles optimized by nature.
Kelly Sutherland
Professor, Biology, University of Oregon
Sutherland is a Professor of Biology at the University of Oregon and the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. She received her PhD from the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography and was as a postdoctoral scholar in Bioengineering at Caltech.
Sutherland’s research is focused on animal-fluid interactions in the open ocean. Her work has brought particular attention to jet-propelled, gelatinous animals— with simple shapes and few propulsive structures—and the mechanisms underlying their predation and locomotory patterns. In 2016 her work was recognized with an early career Sloan Fellowship in Ocean Sciences. She is dedicated to mentoring students and communicating research findings to broader audiences through collaborations with journalists and artists.