A vertical migration of newly hatched A. salina (a species of brine shrimp, commonly known as Sea-Monkeys) is triggered by means of a blue luminescent signal. Animals migrated from the bottom to the top of the tank, following the cue of the blue luminescent signal generated by a vertical blue laser beam. A red laser sheet at the center of the tank illustrates the lack of attraction to this particular light source.
Brine shrimp, which are sold as pets known as Sea-Monkeys, are tiny-only about half an inch long each. With about 10 small leaf-like fins that flap about, they look as if they could hardly make waves. But get billions of similarly tiny organisms together and they can move oceans. It turns out that the collective swimming motion of Sea-Monkeys and other zooplankton-swimming plankton-can generate enough swirling flow to potentially influence the circulation of water in oceans, according to a new study by Caltech researchers. The effect could be as strong as those due to the wind and tides, the main factors that are known to drive the up-and-down mixing of oceans, says John Dabiri , professor of aeronautics and bioengineering at Caltech. According to the new analysis by Dabiri and mechanical engineering graduate student Monica Wilhelmus, organisms like brine shrimp, despite their diminutive size, may play a significant role in stirring up nutrients, heat, and salt in the sea-major components of the ocean system. In 2009, Dabiri's research team studied jellyfish to show that small animals can generate flow in the surrounding water.
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