Unicellular protists’ fluid flow engineering

A study visualizing the fluid flow around 15 species of unicellular flagellated protists, which use their flagella to generate currents that enable feeding while avoiding detection by flow-sensing predators, finds that the arrangement of flagella governs swimming speed, architecture of the fluid flow, and the trade-off between feeding and predator avoidance, with the dinoflagellates achieving particularly successful feeding and stealth behavior due to their unique flagellar arrangement.

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Article #20-09930: “Foraging trade-offs, flagellar arrangements, and flow architecture of planktonic protists,” by Lasse Tor Nielsen and Thomas Kiørboe.

MEDIA CONTACT: Thomas Kiørboe, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, DENMARK; tel: +45 33963401, +45 4011 1884; email:

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