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Leatherbacks Swimming In Silico: Modeling and Verifying Their Momentum and Heat Balance Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Title: Leatherbacks Swimming In Silico: Modeling and Verifying Their Momentum and Heat Balance Using Computational Fluid Dynamics.
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Name(s): Dudley, Peter N., author
Bonazza, Riccardo, author
Jones, T. Todd, author
Wyneken, Jeanette, author
Porter, Warren P., author
Munderloh, Ulrike G., editor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Article
Date Issued: 2014-10-29
Summary: As global temperatures increase throughout the coming decades, species ranges will shift. New combinations of abiotic conditions will make predicting these range shifts difficult. Biophysical mechanistic niche modeling places bounds on an animal’s niche through analyzing the animal’s physical interactions with the environment. Biophysical mechanistic niche modeling is flexible enough to accommodate these new combinations of abiotic conditions. However, this approach is difficult to implement for aquatic species because of complex interactions among thrust, metabolic rate and heat transfer. We use contemporary computational fluid dynamic techniques to overcome these difficulties. We model the complex 3D motion of a swimming neonate and juvenile leatherback sea turtle to find power and heat transfer rates during the stroke. We combine the results from these simulations and a numerical model to accurately predict the core temperature of a swimming leatherback. These results are the first steps in developing a highly accurate mechanistic niche model, which can assists paleontologist in understanding biogeographic shifts as well as aid contemporary species managers about potential range shifts over the coming decades.
Identifier: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110701 (doi), http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110701 (uri), FAUIR000060 (IID)
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000060
Use and Reproduction: publisher
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part Of: PLoS ONE.
1932-6203