A recent American Physical Society Journals study by Scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder finds that common daily use starches such as corn and arrowroot can replace artificial particles used to map water movement patterns. The result is less expensive experiments that are eco-friendly, and we’ve got jellyfish to thank.

Jellyfish are great natural water mixers. Their pulsing movements stir up currents that are complex for such simple animals. Scientists study them to understand how animals move water for feeding, swimming and shaping ecosystems.

Typically, scientists use particle image velocimetry (PIV) for water movement tracking. They sprinkle small tracer particles into the water, direct a laser toward them and capture the flow patterns on film. Unfortunately, those particles are usually synthetic, sometimes made from glass or plastic. Ultimately they are not ocean friendly.

The research team tested simple cornstarch and arrowroot starch and found that they float and scatter light on par with costly synthetics. And bonus — they are biodegradable, non-toxic and significantly less expensive.

The testing was carried out with the starch tracers both in lab set-ups and with live animals like brine shrimp and jellyfish. The results were on-the-nose performance and no harm to the critters or the environment.

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