Geckos as Springs: Mechanics Explain Across-Species Scaling of Adhesion

PloS One
Casey A GilmanDuncan J Irschick

Abstract

One of the central controversies regarding the evolution of adhesion concerns how adhesive force scales as animals change in size, either among or within species. A widely held view is that as animals become larger, the primary mechanism that enables them to climb is increasing pad area. However, prior studies show that much of the variation in maximum adhesive force remains unexplained, even when area is accounted for. We tested the hypothesis that maximum adhesive force among pad-bearing gecko species is not solely dictated by toepad area, but also depends on the ratio of toepad area to gecko adhesive system compliance in the loading direction, where compliance (C) is the change in extension (Δ) relative to a change in force (F) while loading a gecko's adhesive system (C = dΔ/dF). Geckos are well-known for their ability to climb on a range of vertical and overhanging surfaces, and range in mass from several grams to over 300 grams, yet little is understood of the factors that enable adhesion to scale with body size. We examined the maximum adhesive force of six gecko species that vary in body size (~2-100 g). We also examined changes between juveniles and adults within a single species (Phelsuma grandis). We found that maximu...Continue Reading

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References

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Citations

Dec 1, 2015·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Daniel R King, Alfred J Crosby
Mar 14, 2017·Scientific Reports·Mena R KlittichAli Dhinojwala
Mar 27, 2019·Integrative and Comparative Biology·Austin M GarnerPeter H Niewiarowski
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Aug 23, 2016·Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology·Thomas Kleinteich, Stanislav N Gorb
May 16, 2020·Integrative and Comparative Biology·Julian K A LangowskiJohan L van Leeuwen
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Aug 30, 2018·Frontiers in Zoology·Julian K A LangowskiJohan L van Leeuwen
Nov 4, 2020·Integrative and Comparative Biology·Ulrike K Müller, Simon Poppinga

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
chips
force measurements

Software Mentioned

Image J

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