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Gyrotaxis as a new mechanism for generating spatial heterogeneity and migration in microplankton
Author(s) -
Mitchell James G.,
Okubo Akira,
Fuhrman Jed A.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1990.35.1.0123
Subject(s) - laminar flow , plankton , turbulence , marine snow , magnitude (astronomy) , oceanography , shear (geology) , seawater , geology , environmental science , mechanics , water column , physics , petrology , astrophysics
Velocity gradients in seawater (shear) are found throughout the oceans. At microscales, shear occurs as laminar flow. This laminar flow exerts a torque on microplankton. We report that the shear across a microplankter’s surface due to oceanic mixed‐layer turbulence is of the correct magnitude to produce millimeter‐sized clusters of plankton. The production of these clusters is independent of surfaces, chemical gradients, and light cues. Above critical concentrations of 10 3 – l0 4 cells m1 −1 clusters can become temporarily stable, sinking as streamers of plankton‐laden water with radii of one or more millimeters. These streamers can increase migratory velocities by an order of magnitude.