MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) | Snot Palaces revealed: Virtually fly-through a deep-sea giant larvacean house @MBARIvideo | Uploaded June 2020 | Updated October 2024, 14 hours ago.
Giant larvaceans, Bathochordaeus sp., are abundant in the deep midwaters around the world. They create balloon-like mucus webs that can be up to a meter across. Inside these outer filters are smaller, fist-sized inner filters that the animals use to feed on tiny drifting particles and organisms, ranging from less than a micron to a few millimeters in size. A new study published in the journal Nature describes a unique laser-based system for constructing 3D models of gelatinous marine animals and the diaphanous mucus structures they secrete, revealing one of nature's most complex structures.
Researchers have long been interested in how larvaceans can filter a wide variety of particles while processing very large volumes of water (up to 80 liters an hour). Previous studies have looked at larvacean filters in the laboratory, but this is the first study to provide quantitative data about these mucus structures in the open ocean. To gather these data, Kakani Katija, who heads MBARI’s Bioinspiration Lab, worked with a team of engineers, scientists, and submersible pilots to develop an instrument called DeepPIV (PIV stands for particle imaging velocimetry).
Mounted on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), the DeepPIV instrument projects a sheet of laser light that illuminates particles (which indicate water movement), gelatinous materials, and mucus structures in the water. When held stationary, DeepPIV can measure water flow; when used in scanning mode, DeepPIV can reconstruct 3D models of gelatinous tissue and mucus. Combining these three-dimensional models of larvacean filters with observations of flow patterns through the filters, researchers can—for the first time—identify the shape and function of different parts of the larvacean’s inner filter.
This video is a first-of-its-kind 3D reconstruction made in collaboration with the Digital Life Project at the University of Massachusetts. Using 3D rendering software, they were able to create this video to virtually “fly through” the inner filter and study the flow of fluid and particles through different parts of the filter. Combining these hardware and software tools will allow researchers to study the mucus structures found throughout the ocean, which are some of the most complex built forms that can be found in nature.
Learn more: mbari.org/deep-piv-3d-flow
Special thanks to the Digital Life Project for collaboration on this 3D animation. Learn more about them here: digitallife3d.org
Original journal article:
Katija, K., Troni, G., Daniels, J., Lance, K., Sherlock, R.E., Sherman, A.D., Robison, B.H., Revealing enigmatic mucus structures in the deep sea using
DeepPIV, Nature, DOI dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2345-2 (Posted online June 3, 2020).
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Giant larvaceans, Bathochordaeus sp., are abundant in the deep midwaters around the world. They create balloon-like mucus webs that can be up to a meter across. Inside these outer filters are smaller, fist-sized inner filters that the animals use to feed on tiny drifting particles and organisms, ranging from less than a micron to a few millimeters in size. A new study published in the journal Nature describes a unique laser-based system for constructing 3D models of gelatinous marine animals and the diaphanous mucus structures they secrete, revealing one of nature's most complex structures.
Researchers have long been interested in how larvaceans can filter a wide variety of particles while processing very large volumes of water (up to 80 liters an hour). Previous studies have looked at larvacean filters in the laboratory, but this is the first study to provide quantitative data about these mucus structures in the open ocean. To gather these data, Kakani Katija, who heads MBARI’s Bioinspiration Lab, worked with a team of engineers, scientists, and submersible pilots to develop an instrument called DeepPIV (PIV stands for particle imaging velocimetry).
Mounted on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), the DeepPIV instrument projects a sheet of laser light that illuminates particles (which indicate water movement), gelatinous materials, and mucus structures in the water. When held stationary, DeepPIV can measure water flow; when used in scanning mode, DeepPIV can reconstruct 3D models of gelatinous tissue and mucus. Combining these three-dimensional models of larvacean filters with observations of flow patterns through the filters, researchers can—for the first time—identify the shape and function of different parts of the larvacean’s inner filter.
This video is a first-of-its-kind 3D reconstruction made in collaboration with the Digital Life Project at the University of Massachusetts. Using 3D rendering software, they were able to create this video to virtually “fly through” the inner filter and study the flow of fluid and particles through different parts of the filter. Combining these hardware and software tools will allow researchers to study the mucus structures found throughout the ocean, which are some of the most complex built forms that can be found in nature.
Learn more: mbari.org/deep-piv-3d-flow
Special thanks to the Digital Life Project for collaboration on this 3D animation. Learn more about them here: digitallife3d.org
Original journal article:
Katija, K., Troni, G., Daniels, J., Lance, K., Sherlock, R.E., Sherman, A.D., Robison, B.H., Revealing enigmatic mucus structures in the deep sea using
DeepPIV, Nature, DOI dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2345-2 (Posted online June 3, 2020).
Follow MBARI on social media:
Facebook: facebook.com/MBARInews
Twitter: twitter.com/MBARI_News
Instagram: instagram.com/mbari_news
Tumblr: mbari-blog.tumblr.com
LinkdIn: linkedin.com/company/monterey-bay-aquarium-research-institute-mbari-
