Arjama Roy, Amity University Kolkata
Jellyfishes are known as the world’s most efficient swimmer. New research has uncovered one of the reasons why jellyfish have come to be known as the world’s most efficient swimmer. They have discovered a way to achieve a ‘ground effect’ type boost in open water, far from any solid surfaces. Experiments have shown that jellyfish uses their two vortex rings in place of the ground. The vortex rings resist one another, which creates a “virtual wall” that has the same boost in performance compared to animals that swim near the bottom.
An experiment carried out by Brad Gemmell, where the movements of eight jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) were captured in a glass filming vessel using a high-speed camera at 1,000 frames per second. It had been observed that jellyfish that were in motion had a 41% increase in maximum swimming speed and a 61% increase in cumulative distance travelled per swimming cycle compared to those starting from rest. Jellyfish don’t produce cavitation bubbles and are silent which allows them to move quietly through the water. The high efficiency of swimming helps them store energy for growth and reproduction.
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Source: Brad J. Gemmell, Kevin T. Du Clos, Sean P. Colin, Kelly R. Sutherland, John H. Costello. The most efficient metazoan swimmer creates a ‘virtual wall’ to enhance performance. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2021; 288 (1942): 20202494 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2494
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