Jeannette Yen, Professor and Director of Center for Biologically-Inspired Design
Ph.D., Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle
Email:
Phone: 404-385-1596
Fax: 404-894-0519
Office: Cherry Emerson (CE) A116
Research Interest
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.
Current Research
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.
Recent Publications
Yen, J. in press. Appendage diversity and modes of locomotion: swimming at intermediate Reynolds numbers. Ch.11. in: Functional Morphology and Diversity, Volume I in the Natural History of the Crustacea series. Editors: Les Watling and Martin Thiel. Oxford U. Press.
Murphy D. W., D. R. Webster, and J. Yen 2013. A high speed tomographic PIV System for measuring zooplanktonic flow. Limnol. Oceanogr. Methods. 10: 1096-1112. [PDF]
Yen, J. 2011. Sink or Swim. Clues from nature for aquatic robotics.MTS Journal. July/Au:5.[PDF]
Yen, Jeannette, Michael Helms, Ashok Goel, Craig Tovey, and Marc Weissburg. in press. Adaptive Evolution of Teaching Practices in Biologically Inspired Design. Ch. 7. In: Biologically Inspired Design: Computational Methods and Tools. Editors: Ashok Goel, Dan McAdams & Robert Stone. Springer.
Lasley-Rasher, R. and J. Yen. 2012. Predation risk suppresses mating success and reproductive output in the coastal marine copepod, Eurytemora herdmani. Limnol. Oceanogr. 57(2): 433-440. [PDF]
Chang, Y., and J. Yen.2012. Swimming in the intermediate Reynolds range: kinematics of the pteropod Limacina helicina. Integrative and Comparative Biology 52 (5): 597-615. [PDF]
Catton, Kimberly B., Donald R. Webster, and Jeannette Yen.2012.The effect of fluid viscosity, habitat temperature, and body size on the flow disturbance of Euchaeta. Limnology and Oceanography: Fluids and Environments 2: 80-92 [PDF]
Yen, J., M. Weissburg, M. Helms, A. Goel. 2011. Biologically Inspired Design: A tool for interdisciplinary education. Ch. 10, In: Biomimetics. Nature Based Innovation, edited by Y. Bar-Cohen, Taylor and Francis. [PDF]
Kramer, Andrew M., Sarnelle, Orlando and Jeannette Yen. 2011. The effect of mating behavior and temperature variation on the critical population density of a freshwater copepod. Limnol. Oceanogr., 56(2): 707-715. [PDF]
Yen, J, J.K. Sehn, K. Catton, A. Kramer, O. Sarnelle. 2011. Pheromone trail following in three dimensions by the freshwater copepod Hesperodiaptomus Shoshone. J. Plankt. Res. 33(6): 907-916. [PDF]