Damselflies’ mid-air hunting of fruit flies under calm and perturbed flows
Victor
Ortega Jimenez, Professor
Integrative Biology
Applications for Fall 2025 are closed for this project.
Flying predator and their prey are commonly challenged to interact under unstable flow conditions. However, the effects produced by non-steady flows on predator-prey relationships, which demand acute aerial control and maneuvering, remain unclear. Particularly, because aerial predators are generally larger than preys, which can bias the locomotory effects induced by a given perturbed flow. Here we analyzed 3D kinematics of damselflies chasing fruit flies.
Role: Film samaras using highspeed cameras and a wind tunnel, make physical modes, make gliders, biomechanical analysis, and write report.
Qualifications: Engineering, or physics, or biology fundamentals
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Victor M. Ortega Jimenez, Staff Researcher
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Related website: https://ornithopterus.com
Biological & Health Sciences