Workshop: Unsteady Aquatic Locomotion with Respect to Eco-Design and Mechanics; West Palm Beach, Florida, -January 3-7, 2015

West Chester University Of Pennsylvania, West Chester PA

Investigators

Abstract

This award will support the symposium 'Unsteady aquatic locomotion with respect to eco-design and mechanics' at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) in January 2015. The symposium is intended to bring together morphologists, engineers, and mathematicians with an interest in how animals cope with the problem of unsteadiness in the aquatic environment. A major goal is to take theoretical analysis of swimming from the laboratory and examine the interaction of the animal and the environment in the field, where unsteadiness is the general condition. The aquatic environment in which animals must operate is in a constant state of change and therefore unsteady by nature. The occurrence of intrinsic instabilities together with currents, turbulence, tidal oscillations, wave action, and the need for predator and obstacle avoidance, high accelerations and maneuverability make functioning in open water difficult. Turbulence for aquatic animals is important at scales ranging from micro to macro to global. To meet the challenges of inherently unsteady movements and unsteady environment, aquatic animals have adapted body morphologies and behaviors that not only act to enhance stabilization, but can also take advantage of the unsteadiness. Mechanics of vortex energy capture, tidal transport, the drag reduction experienced by animals in swarms and schools, stabilization kinematics associated with short-term perturbations, diving strategies, and fast-start behaviors are examples of mechanisms that utilize unsteadiness in an adaptive manner. Furthermore, the unsteady turbulence that animals produce themselves can have ramifications for ocean mixing and global climate change. Bringing together a diverse array of investigators capitalizes on new approaches and concepts to the study of unsteadiness for aquatic organisms. The potential scientific significance of this symposium is an understanding of the importance of unsteadiness in the environment. This focus can stimulate research based on the knowledge of swimming generated in the laboratory into a natural context. Such information is necessary to assess the energetics of swimming with its implications to the conservation of aquatic species. In addition, morphology and performance displayed by aquatic animals can suggest future avenues for bio-inspired designs. By using SICB as the venue for the symposium, the symposium will be broadly advertised and presented to a large contingent of researchers, who work directly or are allied with the topic of interest. Papers from each presentation (11 total) will be published in the society's journal, Integrative and Comparative Biology. Ultimately, it is hoped that this symposium will provide a forum for discussion among researchers, foster new ideas, interdisciplinary collaborations, and lead the way toward future directions of research efforts in aquatic locomotion.