Characterization of the startup transient electrokinetic flow in rectangular channels of arbitrary dimensions, zeta potential distribution, and time-varying pressure gradient.

The solution to the startup transient EOF in an arbitrary rectangular microchannel is derived analytically and validated experimentally. This full 2D transient solution describes the evolution of the flow through five distinct periods until reaching a final steady state. The derived analytical velocity solution is validated experimentally for different channel sizes and aspect ratios under time-varying pressure gradients. The experiments used a time resolved micro particle image velocimetry technique to calculate the startup transient velocity profiles. The measurements captured the effect of time-varying pressure gradient fields derived in the analytical solutions. This is tested by using small reservoirs at both ends of the channel which allowed a time-varying pressure gradient to develop with a time scale on the order of the transient EOF. Results showed that under these common conditions, the effect of the pressure build up in the reservoirs on the temporal development of the transient startup EOF in the channels cannot be neglected. The measurements also captured the analytical predictions for channel walls made of different materials (i.e., zeta potentials). This was tested in channels that had three PDMS and one quartz wall, resulting in a flow with an asymmetric velocity profile due to variations in the zeta potential between the walls.

Directional flow sensing by passively stable larvae.

Mollusc larvae have a stable, velum-up orientation that may influence how they sense and react to hydrodynamic signals applied in different directions. Directional sensing abilities and responses could affect how a larva interacts with anisotropic fluid motions, including those in feeding currents and in boundary layers encountered during settlement. Oyster larvae (Crassostrea virginica) were exposed to simple shear in a Couette device and to solid-body rotation in a single rotating cylinder. Both devices were operated in two different orientations, one with the axis of rotation parallel to the gravity vector, and one with the axis perpendicular. Larvae and flow were observed simultaneously with near-infrared particle-image velocimetry, and behaviors were quantified as a response to strain rate, vorticity, and centripetal acceleration. Only flows rotating about a horizontal axis elicited the diving response observed previously for oyster larvae in turbulence. The results provide strong evidence that the turbulence-sensing mechanism relies on gravity-detecting organs (statocysts) rather than mechanosensors (cilia). Flow sensing with statocysts sets oyster larvae apart from zooplankters such as copepods and protists that use external mechanosensors in sensing spatial velocity gradients generated by prey or predators. Sensing flow-induced changes in orientation, rather than flow deformation, would enable more efficient control of vertical movements. Statocysts provide larvae with a mechanism of maintaining their upward swimming when rotated by vortices and initiating dives toward the seabed in response to the strong turbulence associated with adult habitats.

Hydrodynamic sensing and behavior by oyster larvae in turbulence and waves.

Hydrodynamic signals from turbulence and waves may provide marine invertebrate larvae with behavioral cues that affect the pathways and energetic costs of larval delivery to adult habitats. Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) live in sheltered estuaries with strong turbulence and small waves, but their larvae can be transported into coastal waters with large waves. These contrasting environments have different ranges of hydrodynamic signals, because turbulence generally produces higher spatial velocity gradients, whereas waves can produce higher temporal velocity gradients. To understand how physical processes affect oyster larval behavior, transport and energetics, we exposed larvae to different combinations of turbulence and waves in flow tanks with (1) wavy turbulence, (2) a seiche and (3) rectilinear accelerations. We quantified behavioral responses of individual larvae to local instantaneous flows using two-phase, infrared particle-image velocimetry. Both high dissipation rates and high wave-generated accelerations induced most larvae to swim faster upward. High dissipation rates also induced some rapid, active dives, whereas high accelerations induced only weak active dives. In both turbulence and waves, faster swimming and active diving were achieved through an increase in propulsive force and power output that would carry a high energetic cost. Swimming costs could be offset if larvae reaching surface waters had a higher probability of being transported shoreward by Stokes drift, whereas diving costs could be offset by enhanced settlement or predator avoidance. These complex behaviors suggest that larvae integrate multiple hydrodynamic signals to manage dispersal tradeoffs, spending more energy to raise the probability of successful transport to suitable locations.

Directional flow sensing by passively stable larvae.

Mollusk larvae have a stable, velum-up orientation that may influence how they sense and react to hydrodynamic signals applied in different directions. Directional sensing abilities and responses could affect how a larva interacts with anisotropic fluid motions, including those in feeding currents and in boundary layers encountered during settlement. Oyster larvae (Crassostrea virginica) were exposed to simple shear in a Couette device and to solid-body rotation in a single rotating cylinder. Both devices were operated in two different orientations, one with the axis of rotation parallel to the gravity vector, and one with the axis perpendicular. Larvae and flow were observed simultaneously with near-infrared particle-image velocimetry, and behavior was quantified as a response to strain rate, vorticity and centripetal acceleration. Only flows rotating about a horizontal axis elicited the diving response observed previously for oyster larvae in turbulence. The results provide strong evidence that the turbulence-sensing mechanism relies on gravity-detecting organs (statocysts) rather than mechanosensors (cilia). Flow sensing with statocysts sets oyster larvae apart from zooplankters such as copepods and protists that use external mechanosensors in sensing spatial velocity gradients generated by prey or predators. Sensing flow-induced changes in orientation, rather than flow deformation, would enable more efficient control of vertical movements. Statocysts provide larvae with a mechanism of maintaining their upward swimming when rotated by vortices and initiating dives toward the seabed in response to the strong turbulence associated with adult habitats.