Experimental hydrodynamics of fish locomotion: functional insights from wake visualization |
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Authors: | Drucker Eliot G Lauder George V |
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Affiliation: | 1 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California 92697 2 Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 |
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Abstract: | Despite enormous progress during the last twenty years in understandingthe mechanistic basis of aquatic animal propulsiona taskinvolving the construction of a substantial data base on patternsof fin and body kinematics and locomotor muscle functionthereremains a key area in which biologists have little information:the relationship between propulsor activity and water movementin the wake. How is internal muscular force translated intoexternal force exerted on the water? What is the pattern offluid force production by different fish fins (e.g., pectoral,caudal, dorsal) and how does swimming force vary with speedand among species? These types of questions have received considerableattention in analyses of terrestrial locomotion where forceoutput by limbs can be measured directly with force plates.But how can forces exerted by animals moving through fluid bemeasured? The advent of digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV)has provided an experimental hydrodynamic approach for quantifyingthe locomotor forces of freely moving animals in fluids, andhas resulted in significant new insights into the mechanismsof fish propulsion. In this paper we present ten "lessons learned"from the application of DPIV to problems of fish locomotionover the last five years. (1) Three-dimensional DPIV analysisis critical for reconstructing wake geometry. (2) DPIV analysisreveals the orientation of locomotor reaction forces. (3) DPIVanalysis allows calculation of the magnitude of locomotor forces.(4) Swimming speed can have a major impact on wake structure.(5) DPIV can reveal interspecific differences in vortex wakemorphology. (6) DPIV analysis can provide new insights intothe limits to locomotor performance. (7) DPIV demonstrates thefunctional versatility of fish fins. (8) DPIV reveals hydrodynamicforce partitioning among fins. (9) DPIV shows that wake interactionamong fins may enhance thrust production. (10) Experimentalhydrodynamic analysis can provide insight into the functionalsignificance of evolutionary variation in fin design. |
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