Surfing on turbulence: a strategy for planktonic navigation

TL;DR

This paper proposes a physics-based model showing that plankton can use flow sensors to navigate turbulence effectively, potentially doubling their vertical movement speed by exploiting flow gradients.

Contribution

It introduces a novel behavior model enabling plankton to 'surf' turbulence, demonstrating how flow perception can enhance their vertical navigation.

Findings

Plankton can reach vertical speeds up to twice their swimming speed.

Flow gradients can be exploited for effective navigation in turbulence.

The model suggests a new physics-based mechanism for plankton movement.

Abstract

In marine plankton, many swimming species can perceive their environment with flow sensors. Can they use this flow information to travel faster in turbulence? To address this question, we consider plankters swimming at constant speed, whose goal is to move upwards. We propose a robust analytical behavior that allows plankters to choose a swimming direction according to the local flow gradients. We show numerically that such plankters can "surf" on turbulence and reach net vertical speeds up to twice their swimming speed. This new physics-based model suggests that planktonic organisms can exploit turbulence features for navigation.