On the Planktonic Locomotion in a Mcriofluidic Device

This study focuses on the locomotion of plankton K. veneficum (CCMP426) in a microcavity device under different microfluidic environment: stationary f/2-Si medium, steady flow, and oscillatory flow. After measuring the local flow field, we are able to determine the absolute and relative velocities of individual plankton cells, from which their rheotaxis can be derived. To represent the locomotion of the planktonic community statistically, we also calculate the probability density function, the expected value and the standard deviation. The experimental results show that when the plankton reside in stationary and homogeneous nutrient medium, the swimming velocity and the acceleration are 52.7±43.5