Details:

Journal Title:
Journal of Experimental Biology
Personal Author:
Wheeler, Jeanette D. ; Chan, Kit Yu Karen ; Anderson, Erik J. ; Mullineaux, Lauren S.
Wheeler, Jeanette D. ; Chan, Kit Yu Karen ; Anderson, Erik J. ; Mullineaux, Lauren S. Less -
NOAA Program & Office:
OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) ; Sea Grant
OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) ; Sea Grant Less -
Sea Grant Program:
WHOI (Woods Hole Sea Grant)
Description:
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. Swimming speed increased with turbulence for both 4- and 6-armed larvae, but their responses differed in terms of vertical swimming velocity. 4-Armed larvae swam most strongly upward in the unforced flow regime, while 6-armed larvae swam most strongly upward in weakly forced flow. Increased turbulence intensity also decreased the relative time that larvae spent in their typical upright orientation. 6-Armed larvae were tilted more frequently in turbulence compared with 4-armed larvae. This observation suggests that as larvae increase in size and add pairs of arms, they are more likely to be passively re-oriented by moving water, rather than being stabilized (by mechanisms associated with increased mass), potentially leading to differential transport. The positive relationship between swimming speed and larval orientation angle suggests that there was also an active response to tilting in turbulence. Our results highlight the importance of turbulence to planktonic larvae, not just during settlement but also in earlier stages through morphology–flow interactions.
Keywords:
[+]
Larvae Sea Urchin
Source:
J Exp Biol (2016) 219 (9): 1303–1310
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.129502
Sea Grant Document Number:
WHOI-R-16-006
Document Type:
Journal Article
Funding:
Grant no. NA14OAR4170074
Rights Information:
CC BY
Compliance:
Library
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:da9f8e36fed6a04bc789ce7966dfbc6d5fd9f596b910c6af23a7833adf0af8ad
Download URL:
https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/40032/noaa_40032_DS1.pdf
File Type:

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