Sea stars generate downforce to stay attached to surfaces

Abstract Intertidal sea stars often function in environments with extreme hydrodynamic loads that can compromise their ability to remain attached to surfaces. While behavioral responses such as burrowing into sand or sheltering in rock crevices can help minimize hydrodynamic loads, previous work sho...

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Autores principales:	Mark Hermes, Mitul Luhar
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/c20f043acb2744c2977aadae702cc1d6
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:c20f043acb2744c2977aadae702cc1d6
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:c20f043acb2744c2977aadae702cc1d62021-12-02T15:53:43ZSea stars generate downforce to stay attached to surfaces10.1038/s41598-021-83961-z2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/c20f043acb2744c2977aadae702cc1d62021-02-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-83961-zhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Intertidal sea stars often function in environments with extreme hydrodynamic loads that can compromise their ability to remain attached to surfaces. While behavioral responses such as burrowing into sand or sheltering in rock crevices can help minimize hydrodynamic loads, previous work shows that sea stars also alter body shape in response to flow conditions. This morphological plasticity suggests that sea star body shape may play an important hydrodynamic role. In this study, we measured the fluid forces acting on surface-mounted sea star and spherical dome models in water channel tests. All sea star models created downforce, i.e., the fluid pushed the body towards the surface. In contrast, the spherical dome generated lift. We also used Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to measure the midplane flow field around the models. Control volume analyses based on the PIV data show that downforce arises because the sea star bodies serve as ramps that divert fluid away from the surface. These observations are further rationalized using force predictions and flow visualizations from numerical simulations. The discovery of downforce generation could explain why sea stars are shaped as they are: the pentaradial geometry aids attachment to surfaces in the presence of high hydrodynamic loads.Mark HermesMitul LuharNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Mark Hermes Mitul Luhar Sea stars generate downforce to stay attached to surfaces
description	Abstract Intertidal sea stars often function in environments with extreme hydrodynamic loads that can compromise their ability to remain attached to surfaces. While behavioral responses such as burrowing into sand or sheltering in rock crevices can help minimize hydrodynamic loads, previous work shows that sea stars also alter body shape in response to flow conditions. This morphological plasticity suggests that sea star body shape may play an important hydrodynamic role. In this study, we measured the fluid forces acting on surface-mounted sea star and spherical dome models in water channel tests. All sea star models created downforce, i.e., the fluid pushed the body towards the surface. In contrast, the spherical dome generated lift. We also used Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to measure the midplane flow field around the models. Control volume analyses based on the PIV data show that downforce arises because the sea star bodies serve as ramps that divert fluid away from the surface. These observations are further rationalized using force predictions and flow visualizations from numerical simulations. The discovery of downforce generation could explain why sea stars are shaped as they are: the pentaradial geometry aids attachment to surfaces in the presence of high hydrodynamic loads.
format	article
author	Mark Hermes Mitul Luhar
author_facet	Mark Hermes Mitul Luhar
author_sort	Mark Hermes
title	Sea stars generate downforce to stay attached to surfaces
title_short	Sea stars generate downforce to stay attached to surfaces
title_full	Sea stars generate downforce to stay attached to surfaces
title_fullStr	Sea stars generate downforce to stay attached to surfaces
title_full_unstemmed	Sea stars generate downforce to stay attached to surfaces
title_sort	sea stars generate downforce to stay attached to surfaces
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/c20f043acb2744c2977aadae702cc1d6
work_keys_str_mv	AT markhermes seastarsgeneratedownforcetostayattachedtosurfaces AT mitulluhar seastarsgeneratedownforcetostayattachedtosurfaces
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Sea stars generate downforce to stay attached to surfaces

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