News from Centre for Ocean Life

What are the consequences of behaviour for population dynamics and ecosystem functions...

Researchers from the Centre for Ocean Life developed a new method to address simultaneously changes in behaviour and population dynamics for several populations.

Can hydrodynamics help prey transport in microbial filter feeders?

Many protists take advantages of surface motility by utilizing microtubule-filled extensions to capture and handle prey particles. Some flagellates, e.g choanoflagellates...

Ambient flows and feeding currents of sessile suspension feeders

Sessile suspension feeders live attached to surfaces and rely on self-generated feeding currents to bring in suspended prey. A new study published in Journal of the Royal...

Clear benefits without direct costs in dinoflagellate defenses

Many dinoflagellates produce toxins in response to grazers, but costs have been hard to establish experimentally. A new Ocean Life paper examines the effect of nutrient...

Foraging trade-offs in flagellates: To eat and not be eaten – that is the (impossible...

In most organisms foraging implies elevated exposure to predators. Such foraging trade-offs are universal and are main determinants of the structure and function of ecosystems...

Feeding flows of microorganisms attached to solid surfaces

Many aquatic microorganisms attach to solid surfaces while creating feeding flows that bring prey particles to them. A new paper in Physical Review Fluids explores how...

PhD scholarship in Fluid dynamics, evolution, and ecology of flagellate foraging

The Centre for Ocean Life at DTU Aqua, Technical University of Denmark, offers a PhD scholarship in ‘Fluid dynamics, evolution, and ecology of flagellate foraging...

Sponge pumps and evolution of the sponge body plan

Pumping units in most sponges possess a gasket structure ensuring efficient pumping and filtration. However, some sponges lack such structure in their pumping units and...

Why is growth of fish so variable?

To tether or not to tether

Many or most flagellates are tethered to particles when feeding, and it is generally accepted that attachment allows organisms to enhance their feeding flow. This view...