Abstract
Unstable and mechanically demanding habitats like wind-exposed open fields or the wave-swept intertidal require rapid adaptive processes to ensure survival. The mechanism of passive reconfiguration was analyzed in two plant models exposed to irregular flow of water or air, two species of the brown seaweed Durvillaea and the giant reed Arundo donax. Irrespective of the surrounding media and the subsequent Reynolds numbers (Re ~ 105 - 107), reconfiguration seems to be the key strategy for streamlining to avoid overcritical drag-induced loads. This passive mechanism is also discussed in the context of the requirement of a maximized surface area for light interception, so that morphological adaptations to rapid reconfiguration represent at least a bifactorial optimization. Both tested plant models exhibited the same principles in streamlining. At a specific threshold value, the proportionality between drag forces and flow velocity can be reduced from the second power close to an almost linear relation. This empirically derived relation could be characterized by a figure of merit or Vogel number (B). A value close to B = -1, resulting in a linear increase of drag force with velocity, was found at higher velocities for both the seaweeds and the giant reed, as well as for a variety of plants described in the literature. It is therefore concluded that the ability to reduce velocity-dependent drag force to a linear relation is a potentially important adaptation for plants to survive in unstable flow-dominated habitats.
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Acknowledgment
The authors thank D. Pease and G. Neill who were in charge of the flume during the experiments, and R. Daly who helped with harvesting and setting up the thalli for testing. Furthermore, the help of Prof. Dr. K. J. Niklas with measuring projected surface areas of A. donax is gratefully acknowledged. The study on kelp was supported by a Marsden Grant to CLH, and a University of Otago scholarship and a DAAD scholarship to DLH. The study on A. donax was supported in part by the DaimlerChrysler AG, Alumni Freiburg and the Competence Network Biomimetics.
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Harder, D.L., Speck, O., Hurd, C.L. et al. Reconfiguration as a Prerequisite for Survival in Highly Unstable Flow-Dominated Habitats. J Plant Growth Regul 23, 98–107 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-004-0043-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-004-0043-1