Hydrodynamic and Neural Filtering of Spatial Information in a Turbulent Odor Plume

This collaborative activity will study how the physical distribution of sensory stimuli in the environment is represented within an animal’s nervous system. Many animals use odors to locate food or mates in habitats where turbulent wind or water currents disperse those chemical signals. Which information about the spatial distribution of odor molecules in the moving fluid influence the behaviors used by animals as they search for the source of the odor?