Aquatic locomotion

A thin flexible plate resembling the fin of an organism swimming leaves the water behind it moving in complex patterns.  Alex Hoover, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Mathematics, created a computer animation to illustrate the propulsion of fish and other organisms through water. The colors represent how fast the pockets of water are rotating. This research is used to build understanding of what makes certain swimming motions efficient compared to others and determine why certain fish move the way they do.