ARONOWSKY, Audrey; Univ. of California, Berkeley: Evolution of a complex synapomorphy in naticid gastropods Naticid gastropods are a diverse and ecologically important family of marine snails. Previous morphological phylogenetic analyses of Naticidae have demonstrated the monophyly of the family and its close relationship to more derived caenogastropods such as the cypraeids and lamellarids. Several complex […]

PEATTIE, A M; FEARING, R S; FULL, R J; Univ. of Calif. Berkeley; Univ. of Calif. Berkeley; Univ. of Calif. Berkeley: Using a simple beam model to predict morphological variation in adhesive gecko hairs Geckos possess some of the strongest, most versatile adhesives in the animal kingdom. These ‘dry’ adhesives – arrays of microscopic, epidermally-derived […]

ROSS, C.F.*; METZGER, K.A.; Stony Brook University, New York; Stony Brook University, New York: Strain gradients and optimality criteria in vertebrate skulls Vertebrate crania house many different functional systems, suggesting that they are unlikely to be optimally designed for resisting feeding forces, but will instead compromise optimality in the feeding system when requirements of other […]

SMITH, A. M.; PAWLICKI, J. M.; PEASE, L. B.; PIERCE, C. M.; STARTZ, T. P.; Ithaca College: Glue or slime: molluscan glue proteins that control gel mechanics A wide variety of molluscs secrete adhesive gels that create powerful attachments. The primary structural difference between these gels and the slimy mucus that these molluscs typically secrete […]

AUTUMN, K.*; HANSEN, W.R.; Lewis & Clark College, Portland OR: Gecko setae: a self-cleaning adhesive nanostructure The adhesive nanostructure on the gecko foot sets the benchmark for the smart adhesives of the future. No other adhesive requires near-zero attachment force, is directional, detaches easily, leaves no residue, and works underwater, in a vacuum, and on […]

PORTER, ME; SUMMERS, AP; Univ. of California, Irvine; Univ. of California, Irvine: Biochemical and structural properties of the cartilaginous vertebral column of sharks There is a common perception that the skeleton of cartilaginous fishes is flimsy compared to bony fishes. However, this idea has never been tested, and the functional extremes achieved by some sharks […]

ZUMWALT, A.C.; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD: A new method to quantify the 3D morphology of bone surfaces, with application to muscle enthesis rugosity There is a long tradition in paleontology of reconstructing the size and in vivo activity of a muscle from the location and appearance of its skeletal attachment site. In general, larger […]

BREWER, M.L.*; HERTEL, F.; California State University, Northridge; California State University, Northridge: Wing shape as correlated with flight behavior in pelecaniform seabirds. Tropical seabirds often traverse great distances in search of prey, therefore selection on wing morphology is likely to be intense. Wing morphology of five species of pelecaniform seabirds from Johnston Atoll in the […]

MILLER, L.A.*; PESKIN, C.S.; University of Utah; Courant Institue of Mathematical Sciences: Wing flexibility, clap and fling, and flight in the smallest insects The immersed boundary method was used to model rigid and flexible wings performing an idealized two-dimensional ‘clap and fling’ stroke. We calculated lift coefficients as functions of time for Reynolds numbers ranging […]

WALKER, Jeffrey A.*; SIMONS, Rachel S.; WEBER, Kenneth E.; Univ. Southern Maine, Portland: Selection for increased flight performance in Drosophila melanogaster A selection experiment on �upwind flight ability� in Drosophilia melanogaster has inadvertently created an elegant system to study the constraints on the evolution of muscle performance. Selected flies have increased their �mean apparent flight […]