The effect of external flow on 3D orientation of a microscopic sessile suspension feeder, Vorticella convallaria

Vorticella convallaria are microscopic sessile suspension feeders that live attached to substrates in aquatic environments. They feed using a self‐generated current and help maintain the health of aquatic ecosystems and wastewater treatment facilities by consuming bacteria and detritus. Their environmental impact is mediated by their feeding rate. In ambient flow, feeding rates are highly dependent on an individual's orientation relative to the substrate and the flow. Here, we investigate how this orientation is impacted by flow speed. Furthermore, we examined whether individuals actively avoid orientations unfavorable for feeding. We exposed individuals to unidirectional laminar flow at shear rates of 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 s−1, and recorded their 3D orientation using a custom biplanar microscope. We determined that V. convallaria orientation became progressively tilted downstream as the shear rate increased, but individuals were still able to actively reorient. Additionally, at higher s..., Please see details in the methods section of  T. Böttger, B. Klaassen van Oorschot, and R. E. Pepper, “The effect of external flow on 3D orientation of a microscopic sessile suspension feeder, Vorticella convallaria,” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, doi: 10.1111/nyas.15170., , # **Data and code from The effect of external flow on 3D orientation of a microscopic sessile suspension feeder, Vorticella convallaria**

 These data consist of:

1\)     Matlab data files (.mat), which are raw data of angle vs. time for the cell body and stalk of 15 individuals. Details of the data files are described below.

2\)    plot_vorticella_angle_data.ipynb is a Python notebook that illustrates how to use the Matlab data files in Python if desired.

3\)    R code to do the statistical analyses described in our paper. This code contains further comments with details of each analysis.

4\)    Vorticella_data.xlsx. An Excel file that contains all data used in the R code in a format suitable for use with this code. Details of this data file are described below. 

5\)    Flow channel laser cutter outlines.cdr and Flow channel laser cutter outlines.pdf. These files are to-scale outlines of the laser cut pieces used to make the flow chamber used in our experiments. The cored draw (.c...