Events Calendar

Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Seminar Series

Speaker: Ulrike K. Müller, Associate Professor, Department of Biology at California State University Fresno, Fresno, CA

Talk Title: From 0 to 10 mph in 100 Microseconds - The Fluid Mechanics of Feeding Strikes in a Carnivorous Plant

Series: Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Seminar Series

Abstract: Fish capture prey by suction feeding-they quickly expand their mouth cavity to entrain prey in a suction flow. Current suction feeding models can explain fish, but not the small aquatic carnivorous plant bladderwort, who captures zooplankton in mechanically triggered underwater traps. With a mouth less than 0.5 mm wide, these traps are among the smallest known that work by suction-a mechanism that would not be effective in the creeping-flow regime. To understand what makes suction feeding possible on this small scale, we compare analytical flow models with experimentally observed flows, recorded at frames rates of up to 50 000 Hz. We found maximum flow speeds of 5 m/s (similar to those in adult fish) and extreme accelerations of up to 40 000 m/s2. Complete within 0.5 milliseconds, the bladderwort feeding strike outpaces the development of a boundary layer, creating a fast and efficient inward jet.

Biography: Ulrike Müller is an Associate Professor in Biology at California State University Fresno. She earned a PhD in Marine Biology from Gröningen University, Netherlands. She has conducted research in the labs of R McN Alexander (Leeds University, UK), W Nachtigall (Saarbrücken University, Germany), CP Ellington (Cambridge University, UK), JL van Leeuwen (Wageningen University, Netherlands) and Hao Liu (Chiba University, Japan) and has published work in Nature and Science. Her research interests center around bio fluid dynamics and range from swimming to suction feeding, studying fish, insects, and carnivorous plants. She is an associate editor at the Proceedings B of the Royal Society.

Host: Eva Kanso

Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 150

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Valerie Childress