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Updated: Jul 4, 2025
07:47
The Barnacle Balanus improvisus as a Marine Model - Culturing and Gene Expression
Published on: August 8, 2018
14.8K
The fluid dynamics of barnacle feeding
Kristian Maar1, Uri Shavit2, Anders Andersen1
1Centre for Ocean Life, National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
The Journal of Experimental Biology
|January 29, 2024
Summary
Sessile barnacles capture evasive prey using unique feeding currents that create quiet side corridors. This flow architecture allows them to feed on sensitive copepods, with smaller barnacles potentially shifting their diet as they grow.
Area of Science:
- Marine biology
- Fluid dynamics
- Animal behavior
Background:
- Sessile barnacles capture suspended prey using a cirral fan.
- Copepods, a primary barnacle food source, can escape fluid disturbances.
- Understanding barnacle feeding mechanisms on evasive prey is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how barnacles capture evasive copepods.
- To describe the feeding current architecture of Balanus crenatus.
- To explore the relationship between flow patterns and prey capture success.
Main Methods:
- Particle image velocimetry (PIV) to visualize feeding currents.
- Tracking of captured and escaping copepod trajectories.
- Modeling the feeding current using the Landau-Squire jet.
Main Results:
- Barnacles generate feeding currents from the sides, creating low-deformation "quiet corridors."
- Most captured copepods entered via these lateral corridors.
- Prey approaching from behind were more likely to escape.
Conclusions:
- Barnacle feeding current architecture is key to capturing evasive prey.
- Lateral quiet corridors facilitate prey interception.
- Ontogenetic shifts in diet may occur as barnacles grow and alter flow dynamics.
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