Tag: senses

3D II WK 8 – Research: Sharks & Remora

March 8, 2017 / / 2 Comments

SHARKS vs REMORA

  

 

Look at them being so harmonious and comfortable together…
The relationship between the two species is… Symbiotic – Mutualism ! 

 

Mutualism relationship:
The remora fish attaches to the belly of the shark by a sucker disc in it’s mouth. It travels everywhere the shark goes, with protection and free transport from the shark. It eats any parasites on the shark which helps keep the shark clean. It also eats any leftover food from the shark. The remora gets to eat and the shark stays clean and healthy. laughing

 

…however, too many of these remora fish may cause the host to slow down significantly (causing similar effect to how barnacles are to whales), and this may cause danger!

 

Skeleton of remora (taken from the video link)

Front view. Skeleton of remora (taken from the video link)

Skeleton of remora (taken from the video link)

 

For more information:
http://www.leisurepro.com/blog/explore-the-blue/shark-remora-relationship/#

 

Specifically on Remora

2 key senses (adaptation) they rely for survival

  • SIGHT 
    To spot hosts and then attach themselves
  • TOUCH – Grip (To adhere)
    In the case of remora fish, there isn’t specific senses that are especially enhanced that they require for survival. In these fish, they have very distinct and unique adaption: suction plate. They use this to attach to host fish like sharks to benefit from them. 

Another special ability of them for survival is the ability to feed off parasites, meaning cleaning their hosts. This way, they feed from it, while helping the host fish. 

 

Range of motion

They adhere to host with their adhesive plate 🙂
They swim well with their fins and tails, in a sinous or curved motion.

 

Skeletal make-up

The remora’s suction plate is a greatly evolved dorsal fin on top of the fish’s body.
The fin is flattened into a disk-like pad and surrounded by a thick, fleshy lip of connective tissue that creates the seal between the remora and its host. The lip encloses rows of plate-like structures called lamellae, from which perpendicular rows of tooth-like structures called spinules emerge.
The intricate skeletal structure enables efficient attachment to surfaces including sharks, sea turtles, whales and even boats. (Georgia Tech, 2013)

Head of a young remora (Remora osteochir) 26.7 millimeter long as seen fron the (A) side, (B) top and (C) front. (Images: David Johnson)

In Feb 2015, NJIT researchers found that the adhesive disc on the remora’s head used to attach to sharks, rays and other pelagic hosts is actually a complex mechanism that includes a modified fin structure with teeny spikes (called lamellar spinules) that generate friction to adhere to the host. Remora head anatomy also differs from other fish in having unusually-structured blood vessels that may be the secret to how they maintain adhesion for hours at a time.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2015-02-remoras-dont.html#jCp

 

FUN FACT
Did you know:  the name ‘remora’ comes from the Latin word mora, meaning ‘delay’ or ‘hold up’ or ‘totally annoy tongue-out

 

In-class Activity!

We had class in a dance studio where we demonstrated movement of our researched animal! Below are the results in terms of sketching:

 

Next, we did paper crafting according to movement and their special characteristics!
For my research on Remora fish, the sucker disc is the most distinct feature of it, therefore I depicted it with paper showing suction.
As the fish adopts free transport from the host fish eg. shark, it doesn’t exhibit it’s own swimming motion.
It swims to the current and to the movement of the shark, which is flowing (as shown below!)

 

3D II WK 6 – Dialogue In The Dark (17/2)!

March 6, 2017 / / 0 Comments

It was my first experience at the DiD, and I have been looking forward to it since weeks ago! I have heard sharings from other people regarding their experience, but still not know what to expect.

The following will be charted graphs about my personal experience throughout the whole trip.

 

 

 

 

Crafting my experience

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The above is the overall view. I did not craft a sculpture, but a landscape to present my rough sense of space while I toured the room in total darkness. Generally, it felt a little enveloped throughout, except for when we were taking a seat and chatting at the park as well as the interactive part of the tour (where we sat on the virtual boat through the Singapore River), there was motion, there were sounds of the environment and I could really feel that I was outside and feeling the breeze and water on my face wink

 

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This depicts how I felt when we first got in. It felt really enclosed as though the space was so small. We had to feel the wall and ‘touch’ our way further in the curved path and curved walls. I could see nothing, so I felt like I was walking through a scary deep tunnel frown

 

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As we travelled deeper, I had a little sense of engulf-ness as I felt myself smaller compared to the space I was being brought into. 

 

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We were slow and careful, for there were stairs and uneven ground filled with rocks/pebbles that we normally have at parks. Steps were really scary and I was glad we formed a line and we had people at the front passing down the message where the stairs would start/ end.

 

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This was how I felt as I walked into the rocky uneven ground at the ‘park’. All of us used the white cane to feel for the ground surface and held onto each other for balance as we wobbled our way through the rocky and grass patch towards the benches and the trees. 

 

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Shortly after, we were guided to the interactive virtual boat area. This was the highlight and the favourite part of my trip! The ferry was swaying to the waves and sprinkles of water from the side of the ferry could be felt at my face. This evoked picture memory of myself at the Singapore River Clarke Quay area together with the sounds of the environment, the surrounding shops and also The Merlion!

 

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The rest of the experience includes touching a real car, the car plate and passing by the ATM, a market and finally a cafe where we purchased drinks and snacks at the counter. We made use of our sense of touch and smell and hear to help us experience the surroundings. The fruits at the market smelt nice 🙂 This part of the trip did not specially give me a sense of space, besides with no light and no sight, I couldn’t quite grasp space. 

 

Discussions & Take aways 🙂

During the 1-hour long trip in pitch darkness, the group had discussed with the guide several interesting questions especially about the use of other senses:

 

How do the blind differentiate money?
Much to our surprise, the blind do not exactly rely on the braille on the notes, but instead just compare sizes. Differentiation of coins would be simpler as the new series of coins has differing edges and ridges along it’s side as well as the surface.

 

How do the blind dream?
For people who are born blind, they do not dream of actual images/ colours. Their dream consists of sounds and they would feel from sense of touch. As for people who have lost their vision, they are capable of dreaming actual images from their memory or blurry images.

 

Concept of colour to the blind?
People who are born blind cannot imagine or picture colours in their minds, but there is description or meaning of colours that associate with feelings, to help them ‘feel’ colours.