Skip to main content

A hydrodynamical model of the sea hare’s propulsive mechanism

  • 748 Accesses

Part of the Lecture Notes in Mathematics book series (LNM,volume 1151)

Abstract

A sea hare (Aplysia brasiliana) swims via a form of jet propulsion which involves folding over a pair of parapodia to form a funnel and squeezing water out the posterior end of the funnel. We develop a simple model of this swimming mechanism, then calculate the mean thrust and instantaneous speed in a particular instance. We also discuss aspects of its mechanical efficiency and possible model extensions.

Keywords

  • Vortex Ring
  • Wing Disk
  • Virtual Mass
  • Pedal Ganglion
  • Instantaneous Speed

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (Canada)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   34.99
Price excludes VAT (Canada)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   46.00
Price excludes VAT (Canada)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. A. Bebbington and G.M. Hughes, Locomotion in Aplysia (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia), Proc. Malac. Soc. Lond. 40 (1973), 399–405.

    Google Scholar 

  2. P.V. Hamilton and H.W. Ambrose, Swimming and orientation in Aplysia brasiliana (Mollusca: Gastropoda), Mar. Behav. Physiol. 3 (1875), 131–144.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  3. E.R. Kandel, Behavioral Biology of Aplysia, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  4. M.J. Lighthill, Mathematical Biofluiddynamics, SIAM Regional Conference Series in Applied Mathematics, vol. 17, SIAM, 1975.

    Google Scholar 

  5. K. von der Porten, G. Redmann, B. Rothman and H. Pinsker, Neuroethological studies of freely swimming Aplysia brasiliana, J. Exp. Biol. 63 (1979), 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

  6. J. Siekmann, On a pulsating jet from the end of a tube with application to the propulsion of certain aquatic animals, J.F.M. 15 (1963), 399–418.

    CrossRef  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

Copyright information

© 1985 Springer-Verlag

About this paper

Cite this paper

Bell, J. (1985). A hydrodynamical model of the sea hare’s propulsive mechanism. In: Sleeman, B.D., Jarvis, R.J. (eds) Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations. Lecture Notes in Mathematics, vol 1151. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0074713

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0074713

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-15694-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-39640-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive