COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH TO THE PERFORMANCE AND EVOLUTION OF HIGH PERFORMANCE SUCTORIAL DISKS IN FISHES

这项研究将结合联合收割机的技能，比较生理学家，工程师，和一个系统，以解开性能，设计原则，和吸盘的演变，使一些鱼类坚持岩石。 这些鱼，被称为攀鲈，坚持污染，不规则的基板在冲击冲浪和同时发起进食攻击，以撬帽贝从岩石。 这项工作将涉及一个领域的组成部分，以测量基板的不规则性在该领域，一个纯建模组件，旨在了解磁盘形状和材料特性对吸力的影响，和系统发育调查组件。 在调查中，来自世界各地的粘鱼类的吸力将被量化，并将使用系统发育方法确定粘鱼类物种之间的关系。 还将研究圆盘的形状和基本结构。 这些研究的结果将存入几个公共数据库，包括Genbank，Tree of Life和一个自定义的形态数据库，如CT扫描。 该补助金的其他更广泛的影响包括开发可用于手术或机器人环境的仿生抽吸系统，开发用于建模软物质相互作用的工具，K12和本科水平的教育和推广，以及研究生教育的支持。

This research will combine the skills of a comparative physiologist, an engineer, and a systematist to unravel the performance, design principals, and evolution of the sucker disk that allows some fishes to cling to rocks. These fishes, called clingfish, adhere to fouled, irregular substrates in pounding surf and while launching feeding attacks to pry limpets from the rocks. The work will involve a field component to measure the irregularity of substrates in the field, a pure modeling component that seeks to understand the effects of disk shape and material properties on suction, and a phylogenetic survey component. In the survey the suction abilities of clingfishes from all over the world will be quantified and the relationships among clingfish species will be determined using phylogenetic methods. The shape and underlying structure of the disk will also be investigated. The results of these studies will be deposited in several public databases, including Genbank, Tree of Life, and a custom database for morphological data such as CT scans. Other broader impacts of the grant include the development of biomimetic suction systems that could be used in surgical or robotic settings, development of tools for modeling soft matter interactions, education and outreach at the K12 and undergraduate level, and support of graduate education.