Turbulence affects larval vertical swimming in the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa

Vertical migration of marine larvae may drastically affect their dispersal, especially if they are spawned in the deep sea. Previous studies have shown that the planktonic larvae of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa in still water swim upwards at a speed of ca. 0.5 mm s -1 during a pre-competenc...

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Published in:Frontiers in Marine Science
Main Authors: Fagerström, Vilhelm, Broström, Göran, Larsson, Ann I.
Other Authors: Göteborgs Universitet
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Frontiers Media SA 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1062884
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1062884/full
id crfrontiers:10.3389/fmars.2022.1062884
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spelling crfrontiers:10.3389/fmars.2022.1062884 2024-02-11T10:05:41+01:00 Turbulence affects larval vertical swimming in the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa Fagerström, Vilhelm Broström, Göran Larsson, Ann I. Göteborgs Universitet 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1062884 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1062884/full unknown Frontiers Media SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Frontiers in Marine Science volume 9 ISSN 2296-7745 Ocean Engineering Water Science and Technology Aquatic Science Global and Planetary Change Oceanography journal-article 2022 crfrontiers https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1062884 2024-01-26T10:10:00Z Vertical migration of marine larvae may drastically affect their dispersal, especially if they are spawned in the deep sea. Previous studies have shown that the planktonic larvae of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa in still water swim upwards at a speed of ca. 0.5 mm s -1 during a pre-competency period of 3–5 weeks. This behavioral trait is thought to benefit dispersion of larvae as it promotes near surface drift in relatively strong currents. In the ocean however, larvae regularly encounter turbulent water movements potentially impeding their swimming ability. With no apparent stabilizing mechanism, it may be expected that the body orientation of these larvae, and consequently their directed swimming, is sensitive to perturbation by external forces. We investigated the effects of turbulence on vertical swimming of pre-competent L. pertusa larvae by exposing them to relevant turbulence intensities within a grid-stirred tank. Larval movement and water flow were simultaneously recorded, allowing for analysis of individual larval swimming velocities. We showed that the upwards directed swimming speed generally decreased with increasing turbulence, dropping to non-significant in turbulence levels occurring near ocean boundaries. Our results do however suggest that L. pertusa larvae maintain their upwards directed swimming, albeit at reduced speed, in a major part of the water column, thus allowing them to spend part of their planktonic phase in the uppermost ocean layer. This new insight into the behavior of L. pertusa larvae in their natural environment strengthens the notion of the species as one with strong potential for long-distance dispersal. Such information is important for the understanding of L. pertusa population connectivity, and vital when developing tools for modelling of larval transport. Article in Journal/Newspaper Lophelia pertusa Frontiers (Publisher) Frontiers in Marine Science 9
institution Open Polar
collection Frontiers (Publisher)
op_collection_id crfrontiers
language unknown
topic Ocean Engineering
Water Science and Technology
Aquatic Science
Global and Planetary Change
Oceanography
spellingShingle Ocean Engineering
Water Science and Technology
Aquatic Science
Global and Planetary Change
Oceanography
Fagerström, Vilhelm
Broström, Göran
Larsson, Ann I.
Turbulence affects larval vertical swimming in the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa
topic_facet Ocean Engineering
Water Science and Technology
Aquatic Science
Global and Planetary Change
Oceanography
description Vertical migration of marine larvae may drastically affect their dispersal, especially if they are spawned in the deep sea. Previous studies have shown that the planktonic larvae of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa in still water swim upwards at a speed of ca. 0.5 mm s -1 during a pre-competency period of 3–5 weeks. This behavioral trait is thought to benefit dispersion of larvae as it promotes near surface drift in relatively strong currents. In the ocean however, larvae regularly encounter turbulent water movements potentially impeding their swimming ability. With no apparent stabilizing mechanism, it may be expected that the body orientation of these larvae, and consequently their directed swimming, is sensitive to perturbation by external forces. We investigated the effects of turbulence on vertical swimming of pre-competent L. pertusa larvae by exposing them to relevant turbulence intensities within a grid-stirred tank. Larval movement and water flow were simultaneously recorded, allowing for analysis of individual larval swimming velocities. We showed that the upwards directed swimming speed generally decreased with increasing turbulence, dropping to non-significant in turbulence levels occurring near ocean boundaries. Our results do however suggest that L. pertusa larvae maintain their upwards directed swimming, albeit at reduced speed, in a major part of the water column, thus allowing them to spend part of their planktonic phase in the uppermost ocean layer. This new insight into the behavior of L. pertusa larvae in their natural environment strengthens the notion of the species as one with strong potential for long-distance dispersal. Such information is important for the understanding of L. pertusa population connectivity, and vital when developing tools for modelling of larval transport.
author2 Göteborgs Universitet
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Fagerström, Vilhelm
Broström, Göran
Larsson, Ann I.
author_facet Fagerström, Vilhelm
Broström, Göran
Larsson, Ann I.
author_sort Fagerström, Vilhelm
title Turbulence affects larval vertical swimming in the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa
title_short Turbulence affects larval vertical swimming in the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa
title_full Turbulence affects larval vertical swimming in the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa
title_fullStr Turbulence affects larval vertical swimming in the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa
title_full_unstemmed Turbulence affects larval vertical swimming in the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa
title_sort turbulence affects larval vertical swimming in the cold-water coral lophelia pertusa
publisher Frontiers Media SA
publishDate 2022
url http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1062884
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1062884/full
genre Lophelia pertusa
genre_facet Lophelia pertusa
op_source Frontiers in Marine Science
volume 9
ISSN 2296-7745
op_rights https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
op_doi https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1062884
container_title Frontiers in Marine Science
container_volume 9
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