Ecological Biomechanics: when the flowing gets tough
In general, I want to understand how challenging flow conditions, such as wind and waves, interact with the form and function of organisms, including their biomechanical traits, behavior, and ecology. My research uses field and laboratory techniques from biomechanics, ecology, physiology, and behavior, and I have worked with the following model systems:
Some of my current research is highlighted below:
- Seaweed and their herbivores on wave-swept shores
- Benthic grazers and suspension feeders in intertidal zones
- Terrestrial plants and their herbivores in wind-blown canopies
- Pollinating insects in wind-blown vegetation
Some of my current research is highlighted below:
Flying pollinators in wind-blown canopies
A composite image of a honey bee traversing vertical obstacles (60 ms intervals), viewed from above.
Pollinators, such as honeybees, frequently encounter unpredictable gusts of wind and cluttered vegetation during their foraging trips. During my postdoctoral training at the University of California - Davis, I am investigated how bees traverse the dynamic flight challenges commonly found in nature. In a recent study, I found that, relative to honeybees traversing stationary obstacles, honeybees speed up to rapidly zip through moving obstacles in wind but slow down when traversing moving obstacles in still air. To avoid colliding with obstacles, honeybees in still air rely on flying slowly and cautiously, whereas honeybees in wind rely on fine-tuning their flight paths more than on regulating their flight speeds.
This work was published in the Journal of Experimental Biology and featured in the New York Times and Slate Magazine.
This work was published in the Journal of Experimental Biology and featured in the New York Times and Slate Magazine.
Kelp-herbivore interactions on wave-swept shores
A frond of the intertidal kelp Egregia menziesii
Kelp on wave-swept shores can be damaged if the hydrodynamic forces from waves exceed the strength of their tissues. During my doctoral research at the University of California - Berkeley, I investigated the biomechanical traits that allowed a large intertidal kelp to survive on wave-swept shores, including trade-offs between buoyancy and fluid forces, links between the material properties and kelp growth rates, and dynamic strain sensitivities that allow kelp to withstand sudden hydrodynamic forces. I also examined the mechanical and ecological effects of kelp being tangled and knotted by waves, long-term consequences of kelp being pruned by herbivore damage, and continent-scale geographic patterns in kelp-herbivore interactions.