Jeannette Yen, Professor
Ph.D., Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, 1982
Phone: (404) 385-1596
Fax: (404) 894-0519
Office: (Cherry Emerson) A116/C109
Research Interests
Small-scale biological-chemical-physical interactions in the plankton, especially the behavior and signal recognition by marine zooplankton: fluid physics of signal structure, neurophysiological basis of signal detection, consequences on feeding ecology, functional morphology, biochemical composition, and reproductive strategies - of marine plankton, especially copepods, from tropical to polar oceanic regions.
My research in biological oceanography and zooplankton ecology investigates signal recognition by planktonic copepods in a transitional fluid regime and their capability for three-dimensional information processing. I am interested in determining how these aquatic microcrustaceans are able to discriminate biological signals from background small-scale turbulent fluid flow. We have focused on signals created by escaping prey, lunging predators, attractive mates, and appropriate hosts.
Currently, my laboratory is very interested in the use of aquatic chemical communication in mating and other planktonic interactions. We are examining how underwater signals are transmitted through the fluid medium and perceived by zooplanktonic organisms. Our laboratory also is working collaboratively on a project to document the hydromechanical signals created by fish and the role of these cues in host-tracking by copepods that are parasitic on salmon. I also am engaged in collaborative research on the effects of krill swimming/feeding currents in disrupting marine snow and the impact on biogeochemical cycling in the sea. Continued interest in the ecology and phylogeny of copepod congeners within the family Euchaetidae include latitudinal comparisons of their physiology, lipid metabolism, and reproductive strategies.
Selected Publications
[Complete list of publications]
Woodson, CB, DR Webster, MJ Weissburg, and J Yen. 2008. The prevalence and implications of copepod behavioral responses to oceanographic gradients. Integr. Comp. Biol. 47: 831-846. [PDF]
Vattam, Swaroop, Michael Helms, Ashok Goel, Jeannette Yen & Marc Weissburg. Learning About and Through Biologically Inspired Design. To appear in Proc. Second Design Creativity Workshop , Atlanta, June 22, 2008. [PDF]
Helms, Michael, Swaroop Vattam, Ashok Goel, Jeannette Yen & Marc Weissburg. Problem-Driven and Solution-Based Design: Twin Processes of Biologically Inspired Design. To appear in Proc. ACADIA-2008 , Boston, October 2008. [PDF]
Yen, J. & M.J. Weissburg. 2007. Perspectives on biologically inspired design: introduction to the collected contributions. Bioinsp. Biomim. 2: DOI 10.1088/1748-3190/2/4/E01 [PDF]
Woodson, CB, DR Webster, MJ Weissburg, and J Yen. 2007. Cue hierarchy and foraging of calanoid copepods:ecological implications of oceanographic structure. Mar.Ecol. Progr. Series 330: 163-177. [PDF]
Heuch, PA, MH Doall, and J Yen. 2007. Water flow around a fish mimic attracts a parasitic and deters a planktonic copepod. J. Plank. Res.29 (SUPPL. 1): i3–i16. [PDF]
Catton, Kimberly, Donald R. Webster, Jason Brown, and Jeannette Yen. 2007. Quantitative analysis of tethered and free-swimming copepodid flow fields. J. Exp. Biol. 210: 299-310. [PDF]
Yen, J., K.D. Rasberry, and D.R. Webster: 2008. The effect of turbulence on copepod swimming kinematics. J. Mar. Systems. 69: 283-294. [PDF]
Woodson, CB, DR Webster, MJ Weissburg, and J Yen. 2005. Response of copepods to physical gradients associated with structure in the ocean. Limnol. Oceangr.50(5): 1552-1564. [PDF]
Goldthwait, Sarah, Jeannette Yen, Jason Brown, and Alice Alldredge. 2004. Quantification of marine snow fragmentation by swimming euphausiids. Limnol. Oceanogr. 49: 940-952. [PDF]