Presenter : Susan Brush
Mentor : Kelly Sutherland
Major : Marine Biology
Poster 25
Hydromedusan jellyfish are planktonic organisms and, as such, are exposed to ocean water motion that directly impacts how they eat, disperse and eventually spawn. To understand the effect that realistic levels of water motion has on individual organisms, our research examines the role that turbulence plays in the swimming behavior of hydromedusae. Using a laboratory turbulence tank, we observed the behavior of two species of hydromedusae with distinct body shapes at two levels of turbulence. We were able to establish that these two species occupy different depths within the water. While statistical comparison resulted in no significant dif- ference in swimming speed and acceleration between turbulence treatments, qualitative comparisons between swimming patterns of the two species suggests that turbulence does influence the swimming trajectories of prolate individuals (bullet-shaped) com- pared oblate individuals (plate-shape). Swimming behavior is closely tied with feeding behavior in hydromedusae. Therefore these findings indicate that turbulent conditions, which are ubiquitous in the ocean, may disproportionately influence feeding in certain species and could impact the overall success of these organisms.