Meeting Abstract
Modern prototyping methods, such as 3D-printing, provide convenient means to build reproducible physical models that mimic natural organismal designs for mechanical testing in controlled laboratory environments. Specific design modifications can be simplified or created to form idealized or hypothetical model systems with “adaptive” traits that can be individually tested and systematically compared. We use this approach to build “families” of biomimetic structures and robots inspired by the tails of syngnathid fishes (seahorses, pipehorses, and pipefishes), which are compared to test hypotheses on the adaptive evolution of their musculoskeletal systems. In this way, we subject the physical models to a variety of mechanical tests, quantify their response, and map their functional trade-offs. Upon comparison, it becomes clear how structural minutiae present in the tails of seahorses and related pipehorses provide them the unique ability to grasp.
