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Copepods swim together in a swarm even in turbulent currents. Researchers funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) have observed the behaviour of fish food with high-speed cameras.
Zooplankton are often considered to be a passive source of food for fish and other aquatic animals. But at least one of their representatives, the millimetre-sized copepod (Eurytemora affinis), moves purposefully in turbulent water with "jumps". This fact was discovered by a team of researchers led by Markus Holzner, holder of an SNSF professorship at ETH Zurich. "These jumps enable the plankton to hunt their prey and the males to catch a female," explains Holzner.
The researchers observed the copepods in a turbulence generator – a type of aquarium in which the water is swirled around by counter-rotating discs. High-speed cameras recorded the movements. The images were analysed by a computer program developed by a group at the Institute of Environmental Engineering at ETH.
Fluorescent particles reveal turbulence
Several cameras were used to track the exact position in space of each copepod and determine its orientation. Small plastic particles that fluoresced under laser light enabled the flow to be observed at any point, while the speed of each copepod could be calculated relative to the flow.
The researchers were thus able to show that the zooplankton can actively move in turbulent water. "This enables the copepods to remain together in a swarm, which is particularly important for their reproduction," according to Holzner. The findings are important for the understanding of aquatic ecosystems. "Fish farms might also be able to adapt the flows accordingly so that the food intake is ideally set up for the fish."
(*) F.-G. Michalec et al.: Zooplankton can actively adjust their motility to turbulent flow. PNAS (2017). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1708888114
http://www.snf.ch/SiteCollectionDocuments/michalec_zooplankton_pnas_2017_embargo...
Contact
Prof. Dr. Markus Holzner
Institute of Environmental Engineering
ETH Zurich
Tel.: +41 44 633 30 79
E-mail: holzner@ifu.baug.ethz.ch
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Promoting young researchers
The SNSF has launched a new funding scheme to support researchers working towards a professorship. SNSF Eccellenza Grants allow tenure-track assistant professors to form a new research team and lead an ambitious scientific project. SNSF Eccellenza Professorial Fellowships cover the salaries of assistant professors as well as their project costs. The new scheme replaces the SNSF professorship grant, which has supported 691 researchers since its launch in 2000. And it has done so with great success: approx. 80% of grantees went on to obtain a professorship at a higher education institution in Switzerland or abroad.
http://www.snf.ch/en/funding/careers/eccellenza/Pages/default.aspx
http://p3.snf.ch/Project-172916 'Project in the SNSF research database P3'
http://www.snf.ch/en/researchinFocus/newsroom/Pages/news-171212-press-release-pl... 'Download-images'
'Film showing reconstructed movements of the copepods.'
In the turbulence generator the mobility of copepods is tracked with a high-speed camera.
© Markus Holzner/ETH Zürich
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In the turbulence generator the mobility of copepods is tracked with a high-speed camera.
© Markus Holzner/ETH Zürich
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