The Small Jelly Creatures That Link Up And Swim In Corkscrews | Science Friday
A 1-2 foot-long colony of salps moves in a helix using coordinated jets. Credit: Sutherland et al, Sci. Adv., 2024.
Kelly Sutherland, collaborator with ϲappWhitman Scientists Jack Costello and Sean Colin, talks with Science Friday host Ira Flatow about their latest research on marine creature locomotion.
Salps are small, transparent barrel-shaped jelly creatures. They are sometimes confused with jellyfish, but they are so much more complex. Salps have nervous, circulatory, and digestive systems that include a brain, heart, and intestines.
Salps are known to link themselves together in long chains. And each night they journey from the depths of the ocean to the surface to feast on algae. shows that the key to their efficiency is swimming in corkscrews.
Source: The Small Jelly Creatures That Link Up And Swim In Corkscrews | Science Friday