The physics behind how fire ants band together into robust floating “rafts”

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External News Details

Many things about the animal world fascinate David Hu. He's won awards and gained attention for his studies on everything from mammal urination and defecation, to this research involving fire ants and how they build rafts out of their bodies when floodwaters rise. Hu, an associate professor in the Schools of Biological Sciences and Physics, and his team found different fluid behaviors, such as vortexes, could change the size of the fire ant raft in several ways. Hu and members of his team presented at the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics 72nd Annual Meeting in late November.

Additional Information

Groups

College of Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, School of Physics

Categories
Student and Faculty, Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics, Life Sciences and Biology, Physics and Physical Sciences
Keywords
College of Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, School of Physics, David Hu, Fire Ants, rafts, floodwaters
Status
  • Created By: Renay San Miguel
  • Workflow Status: Published
  • Created On: Dec 19, 2019 - 1:55pm
  • Last Updated: Dec 19, 2019 - 1:56pm