Abstract
Potentially, non-spherical prey can be re-oriented in a flow field and impact on the predator's feeding structures in a non-random manner. Herein, we quantify a process whereby this passive reorientation occurs, and present a model that predicts the orientation of a spheroidal prey as a function of its shape, size and the characteristics of the fluid flow. For a radial flow field, elongated prey tend to align with their long axis parallel to streamlines. This theory is well supported by our results from a laboratory study of cylindrical particles in a siphon flow. The model is extended to a more realistic representation of copepod feeding currents. In this context, the spatial scale over which this process is active is proportional to « -1/4 where « is the turbulent dissipation rate. For a range of natural turbulence levels, re-orientation efficiency can range from >90% (low turbulence) to <10% (high turbulence).
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