Drag force, morphology and mechanical properties of three Sarcophyton species, S. buitendijki Verseveldt, S. cinereum Tixier-Durivault and S. crassocaule Moser were studied. Among the three species, S. buitendijki has the highest flexibility and lowest stiffness that enable them to bend into a drag-reducing orientation by collapsing the colony and lying near the substratum at higher velocities. S. cinereum has intermediate flexibility and stiffness; deformation of the colony does not result in the reduction of drag forces, it resists drag forces by stiffness. Colonies of S. crassocaule have the highest stiffness which allows them to retain streamlining. They reduce drag forces by staying in the lower-velocity boundary layer. This study shows that the three sympatric Sarcophyton species possess different morphological and mechanical properties and they coexist in the same environment by adopting different strategies to reduce drag forces.
關聯:
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology vol. 201, no. 1-2 pp.13-22
