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

这项研究将结合一位比较生理学家、一位工程师和一位系统学家的技能，来揭示使一些鱼类能够附着在岩石上的吸盘的性能、设计原理和进化过程。这些被称为粘鱼的鱼，在拍打海浪的过程中附着在肮脏的不规则底物上，同时发动捕食攻击，从岩石上撬开帽贝。这项工作将包括一个现场组件，用于测量现场基板的不规则性，一个纯粹的建模组件，旨在了解磁盘形状和材料特性对吸力的影响，以及一个系统发育调查组件。在调查中，将量化世界各地粘鱼的吸力，并利用系统发育方法确定粘鱼物种之间的关系。该圆盘的形状和底层结构也将被研究。这些研究的结果将存储在几个公共数据库中，包括Genbank， Tree of Life，以及一个用于形态学数据（如CT扫描）的定制数据库。该拨款的其他更广泛的影响包括可用于外科或机器人设置的仿生吸引系统的开发，软物质相互作用建模工具的开发，K12和本科水平的教育和推广，以及对研究生教育的支持。

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.