Forced Convection Past a Rotating Sphere: Modeling Oxygen Transport to a Pond Snail Embryo

Abstract

Helisoma trivolvis pond snail embryos are known for their rotation, which is induced by beating of cilia at the embryo's surface. A common hypothesis links this behavior to enhancing oxygen transfer to the embryo's surface. In this paper, this hypothesis is quantified, and the effect of the rotation on the supply of oxygen to an embryo, which is approximately spherical in shape, is studied. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first research presenting a quantitative study on the effect of an embryo's rotation on facilitating gaseous exchange between the embryo and the environment.