Suction Flows Generated by the Carnivorous Bladderwort <i>Utricularia</i>—Comparing Experiments with Mechanical and Mathematical Models
Suction feeding is a well-understood feeding mode among macroscopic aquatic organisms. The little we know about small suction feeders from larval fish suggests that small suction feeders are not effective. Yet bladderworts, an aquatic carnivorous plant with microscopic underwater traps, have strong...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2020-03-01
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| Series: | Fluids |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5521/5/1/33 |
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| author | Krizma Singh Roberto C. Reyes Gabriel Campa Matthew D. Brown Fatima Hidalgo Otto Berg Ulrike K. Müller |
| author_facet | Krizma Singh Roberto C. Reyes Gabriel Campa Matthew D. Brown Fatima Hidalgo Otto Berg Ulrike K. Müller |
| author_sort | Krizma Singh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Suction feeding is a well-understood feeding mode among macroscopic aquatic organisms. The little we know about small suction feeders from larval fish suggests that small suction feeders are not effective. Yet bladderworts, an aquatic carnivorous plant with microscopic underwater traps, have strong suction performances despite having the same mouth size as that of fish larvae. Previous experimental studies of bladderwort suction feeding have focused on the solid mechanics of the trap door’s opening mechanism rather than the mechanics of fluid flow. As flows are difficult to study in small suction feeders due to their small size and brief event durations, we combine flow visualization on bladderwort traps with measurements on a mechanical, dynamically scaled model of a suction feeder. We find that bladderwort traps generate flows that are more similar to the inertia-dominated flows of adult fish than the viscosity-dominated flows of larval fish. Our data further suggest that axial flow transects through suction flow fields, often used in biological studies to characterize suction flows, are less diagnostic of the relative contribution of inertia versus viscosity than transverse transects. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T01:23:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-876f00463e664cfcbb1eb3d8b666c32c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2311-5521 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T01:23:11Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fluids |
| spelling | doaj.art-876f00463e664cfcbb1eb3d8b666c32c2022-12-22T01:25:39ZengMDPI AGFluids2311-55212020-03-01513310.3390/fluids5010033fluids5010033Suction Flows Generated by the Carnivorous Bladderwort <i>Utricularia</i>—Comparing Experiments with Mechanical and Mathematical ModelsKrizma Singh0Roberto C. Reyes1Gabriel Campa2Matthew D. Brown3Fatima Hidalgo4Otto Berg5Ulrike K. Müller6Department of Biology, California State University, Fresno, CA 93740, USADepartment of Electrical Engineering, California State University, Fresno, CA 93740, USADepartment of Electrical Engineering, California State University, Fresno, CA 93740, USADepartment of Biology, California State University, Fresno, CA 93740, USADepartment of Biology, California State University, Fresno, CA 93740, USADepartment of Chemistry, California State University, Fresno, CA 93740, USADepartment of Biology, California State University, Fresno, CA 93740, USASuction feeding is a well-understood feeding mode among macroscopic aquatic organisms. The little we know about small suction feeders from larval fish suggests that small suction feeders are not effective. Yet bladderworts, an aquatic carnivorous plant with microscopic underwater traps, have strong suction performances despite having the same mouth size as that of fish larvae. Previous experimental studies of bladderwort suction feeding have focused on the solid mechanics of the trap door’s opening mechanism rather than the mechanics of fluid flow. As flows are difficult to study in small suction feeders due to their small size and brief event durations, we combine flow visualization on bladderwort traps with measurements on a mechanical, dynamically scaled model of a suction feeder. We find that bladderwort traps generate flows that are more similar to the inertia-dominated flows of adult fish than the viscosity-dominated flows of larval fish. Our data further suggest that axial flow transects through suction flow fields, often used in biological studies to characterize suction flows, are less diagnostic of the relative contribution of inertia versus viscosity than transverse transects.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5521/5/1/33suction feedingbladderwortflow visualizationinlet flows |
| spellingShingle | Krizma Singh Roberto C. Reyes Gabriel Campa Matthew D. Brown Fatima Hidalgo Otto Berg Ulrike K. Müller Suction Flows Generated by the Carnivorous Bladderwort <i>Utricularia</i>—Comparing Experiments with Mechanical and Mathematical Models Fluids suction feeding bladderwort flow visualization inlet flows |
| title | Suction Flows Generated by the Carnivorous Bladderwort <i>Utricularia</i>—Comparing Experiments with Mechanical and Mathematical Models |
| title_full | Suction Flows Generated by the Carnivorous Bladderwort <i>Utricularia</i>—Comparing Experiments with Mechanical and Mathematical Models |
| title_fullStr | Suction Flows Generated by the Carnivorous Bladderwort <i>Utricularia</i>—Comparing Experiments with Mechanical and Mathematical Models |
| title_full_unstemmed | Suction Flows Generated by the Carnivorous Bladderwort <i>Utricularia</i>—Comparing Experiments with Mechanical and Mathematical Models |
| title_short | Suction Flows Generated by the Carnivorous Bladderwort <i>Utricularia</i>—Comparing Experiments with Mechanical and Mathematical Models |
| title_sort | suction flows generated by the carnivorous bladderwort i utricularia i comparing experiments with mechanical and mathematical models |
| topic | suction feeding bladderwort flow visualization inlet flows |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5521/5/1/33 |
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