Mathematical Biology Seminar Christina Hamlet, Bucknell University Wednesday, November 10, 2021 3:05pm on Zoom Making waves: Mathematical and computational modeling of anguilliform swimming implemented in an immersed boundary framework. Abstract: The surrounding fluid environment constrains basic animal behaviors such as locomotion. In order to study such behavior, it is crucial to understand these fluid-structure interactions and how they inform the physical constraints on biological systems. This talk discusses the motivation for studying biological systems such as lamprey swimming and the models used for these studies. Neural networks called a central pattern generators (CPGs) generate rhythmic contraction-inducing signals down the body, producing swimming behavior in lampreys. We present a computational lamprey driven by a CPG modeled as a chain of coupled oscillators with curvature-based feedback used to close the physiological loop and examine the effects of sensory feedback on swimming behavior. These models are numerically solved using immersed boundary methods, a class of fluid-structure interaction implementations that are an established approach for scientific computation in biofluids. Implications for steady motion, maneuverability, and costs associated with locomotion may then be analyzed to shed light on questions related to swimming behavior in natural lampreys.