A grant has been awarded to the University of Rhode Island under the direction of Dr. Cheryl Wilga for the acquisition of a custom designed water flume for studies of dynamic biomechanical, physiological, behavioral, and ecological phenomena. The apparatus will be designed as a recirculating tank with the flow loop arranged in a vertical configuration. The overall dimensions will be approximately 8 m x 0.6 m x 0.5 m (L x W x loop H) with a 1.5 m long working section. The motor will enable variable speed flows to be attained (up to 2 m s-1, or up to 6 m s-1 with the detachable reducer in place). Animals and plants can be placed in the working section and studied under relatively natural conditions.
Behaviors such as swimming mechanisms in sharks, reconfiguration of flexible seaweeds, aggregation in mussel beds, and stream insect predator-prey interactions are easily observed using a flume. It is essential that a water flume is used for these kinds of performance testing; they cannot be conducted in still water aquaria. One benefit of a water flume is that the organism will be confined to a working section and remains relatively stationary to the observer and the recording camera, allowing for the effects of water flow on the organisms. A second benefit of this water flume will be the ability to vary flow speeds; flow speed must be adjusted for the size of each organism to induce steady swimming or to study the effects of variable flow on hydrodynamic force generation and behavior of benthic organisms. These factors are critical in assessing organismal responses to flow and cannot be achieved in still water tanks. A third major benefit of having the flow tank will be its easy accessibility at any time of the year. In addition to being able to observe and measure organismal responses directly, the flume readily allows researchers to use analytical equipment, such as video, electromyographs (record muscle activity), sonomicrometers (record motion using ultrasound), pressure probes, and force transducers. As a result, the flume allows for a controlled experimental arena and allows for the visualization and quantification of behaviors in flowing water that cannot be accurately or effectively conducted in the natural environment or in still water aquaria.
The investigators all have a strong tradition of involving students at all levels of their research, including attending professional meetings each year to present results. The water flume will directly benefit the training and research activities of the 10 graduate students currently in our laboratories, as well as all future students. We typically have 6-8 undergraduate students that conduct research projects each year who would also directly benefit from experience with a water flume. Incorporation of experiments using the water flume in our courses will enable us to illustrate the dynamic behaviors of aquatic organisms. There is also great potential for increasing our network and partnership infrastructure with colleagues from other colleges within our university, such as Biological Oceanography, Mechanical and Ocean Engineering, and Fisheries.
