Multiscale flow between the branches and polyps of gorgonians.

Gorgonians, including sea fans, are soft corals well known for their elaborate branching structure and how they sway in the ocean. This branching structure can modify environmental flows to be beneficial for feeding in a particular range of velocities and, presumably, for a particular size of prey. As water moves through the elaborate branches, it is slowed, and recirculation zones can form downstream of the colony. At the smaller scale, individual polyps that emerge from the branches expand their tentacles, further slowing the flow. At the smallest scale, the tentacles are covered in tiny pinnules where exchange occurs. In this paper, we quantify the gap to diameter ratios for various gorgonians at the scale of the branches, the polyp tentacles, and the pinnules. We then use computational fluid dynamics to determine the flow patterns at all three levels of branching. We quantify the leakiness between the branches, tentacles, and pinnules over the biologically relevant range of Reynolds numbers and gap-to-diameter ratios. We find that the branches and tentacles can either act as leaky rakes or solid plates depending upon these dimensionless parameters. The pinnules, on the other hand, mostly impede the flow. Using an agent-based modeling framework, we quantify plankton capture as a function of the gap-to-diameter ratio of the branches and the Reynolds number. We find that the capture rate depends critically on both morphology and Reynolds number. The results of the study have implications for how gorgonians modify ambient flows for efficient feeding and exchange.