The Art and Science of Reconstructing Ancient Marine Environments

This is the link for Russell’s talk:

 

 

Ammonoid cephalopods experimented with seemingly endless variations in shell shape for hundreds of millions of years. Shell shape influenced the swimming capabilities of these living animals and strongly constrained their life habits.  Theoretical, planispiral cephalopods were virtually constructed, allowing detailed hydrostatic simulations (involving buoyancy, orientation, and mass balance). These cephalopods were also “resurrected” with 3D-printed,  biomimetic robots to investigate their hydrodynamic properties (swimming velocity, acceleration, and maneuverability). Other 3D printed models demonstrate how hydrostatics and hydrodynamics interact, illuminating some inescapable physical tradeoffs. Laterally compressed shells prevent yaw during movement and present a tradeoff between dynamic stability and yaw maneuverability. Shells with long body chambers had low hydrostatic stability, presenting challenges during locomotion, but increasing pitch maneuverability. These experiments offer a re-evaluation of life habits across the morphospace. Inflated and unstable morphologies sacrificed stability and streamlining for highly efficient, maneuverable life habits. These properties infer adaptive value for morphotypes traditionally interpreted as hydrodynamically inferior.