Variation in setal micromechanics and performance of two gecko species

Hagey, Travis J.; Puthoff, Jonathan B.; Holbrook, M.; Harmon, Luke J.; Autumn, Kellar

doi:10.1007/s00435-013-0207-2

Cited by 21 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…However, the seventh species is distinct from the rest in both habitat associations and toe pad characteristics: Rhoptropus afer is a highly terrestrial member of the genus and has short setae and relatively small toe pads (as well as several other distinct morphological characters associated with cursorial locomotion). Such differences are not unexpected and are consistent with variation seen among more distantly related species, such as G. gecko and P. grandis (Hagey et al 2013). It seems logical to expect that, for a taxon in which adhesive toe pads have been identified as directly or indirectly related to success and high species diversity across the clade (Losos 2010), variation in toe pad structure and function, at various length scales, might be associated with characteristics like behavior, performance, and habitat preferences that reflect ecological opportunity.…”

Section: Functional Morphology Ecology Evolution and Gecko-inspiresupporting

confidence: 79%

“…This is exactly the behavior required for rapid locomotion, and it has been confirmed experimentally (Autumn et al 2006b). Though the frictional adhesion concept was derived from data acquired from tokay geckos and their isolated setal arrays, the same principles have been observed for the giant day gecko, Phelsuma grandis (or Phelsuma madagascariensis), whose setal architecture is similar to that of G. gecko (Hagey et al 2013), suggesting that this is a general principle of setal function.…”

Section: Detachmentmentioning

confidence: 92%

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Gecko Adhesion as a Model System for Integrative Biology, Interdisciplinary Science, and Bioinspired Engineering

Autumn

Niewiarowski

Puthoff

2014

Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst.

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Geckos possess a superlative climbing adaptation in the form of hierarchical arrays of adhesive nanostructures on the underside of their toes. These structures permit rapid, robust, and reliable adhesion to nearly any substrate during full-speed locomotion. We review the fundamental principles and properties of this system, describe its ecological and evolutionary aspects, and offer our assessment of the field alongside suggestions for future research in this direction. 445Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 2014.45:445-470. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by University of California -San Francisco UCSF on 12/14/14. For personal use only.

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Section: Functional Morphology Ecology Evolution and Gecko-inspiresupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Detachmentmentioning

confidence: 92%

Gecko Adhesion as a Model System for Integrative Biology, Interdisciplinary Science, and Bioinspired Engineering

Autumn

Niewiarowski

Puthoff

2014

Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst.

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“…To quantify toe detachment angle, we suspended live lizards from a single rear center toe (Schulte et al, 2004;Wang et al, 2010;Zani, 2000) from a slowly inverting glass microscope slide, recording the surface angle at which the lizard spontaneously detaches ( Fig. 2; Autumn et al, 2006;Emerson, 1991;Hagey et al, 2014). As the glass surface inverts, the probability of detachment increases, making angle of toe detachment an excellent assay to be modeled by the Weibull distribution.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To confirm the correlated relationship between k, λ and sample size, we used a previously collected dataset of toe detachment observations from 53 gecko and anole species (244 individuals with an average of 9 trials per individual). This dataset was collected using similar methods to those described above, including measurements from the lab and field using captive and wild-caught specimens (Autumn et al, 2006;Hagey et al, 2014). We estimated k and λ for each individual and fitted these data to a linear model where k was predicted by λ, number of trials, and an interaction between λ and the number of trials.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modeling observed animal performance using the Weibull distribution

Hagey

Puthoff

Crandell

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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To understand how organisms adapt, researchers must link performance and microhabitat. However, measuring performance, especially maximum performance, can sometimes be difficult. Here, we describe an improvement over previous techniques that only consider the largest observed values as maxima. Instead, we model expected performance observations via the Weibull distribution, a statistical approach that reduces the impact of rare observations. After calculating group-level weighted averages and variances by treating individuals separately to reduce pseudoreplication, our approach resulted in high statistical power despite small sample sizes. We fitted lizard adhesive performance and bite force data to the Weibull distribution and found that it closely estimated maximum performance in both cases, illustrating the generality of our approach. Using the Weibull distribution to estimate observed performance greatly improves upon previous techniques by facilitating power analyses and error estimations around robustly estimated maximum values.

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Nonlinear variation in clinging performance with surface roughness in geckos

Pillai

Nordberg

Riedel

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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Understanding the challenges faced by organisms moving within their environment is essential to comprehending the evolution of locomotor morphology and habitat use. Geckos have developed adhesive toe pads that enable exploitation of a wide range of microhabitats. These toe pads, and their adhesive mechanisms, have typically been studied using a range of artificial substrates, usually significantly smoother than those available in nature. Although these studies have been fundamental in understanding the mechanisms of attachment in geckos, it is unclear whether gecko attachment simply gradually declines with increased roughness as some researchers have suggested, or whether the interaction between the gekkotan adhesive system and surface roughness produces nonlinear relationships. To understand ecological challenges faced in their natural habitats, it is essential to use test surfaces that are more like surfaces used by geckos in nature. We tested gecko shear force (i.e., frictional force) generation as a measure of clinging performance on three artificial substrates. We selected substrates that exhibit microtopographies with peak‐to‐valley heights similar to those of substrates used in nature, to investigate performance on a range of smooth surfaces (glass), and fine‐grained (fine sandpaper) to rough (coarse sandpaper). We found that shear force did not decline monotonically with roughness, but varied nonlinearly among substrates. Clinging performance was greater on glass and coarse sandpaper than on fine sandpaper, and clinging performance was not significantly different between glass and coarse sandpaper. Our results demonstrate that performance on different substrates varies, probably depending on the underlying mechanisms of the adhesive apparatus in geckos.

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Variation in setal micromechanics and performance of two gecko species

Cited by 21 publications

References 41 publications

Gecko Adhesion as a Model System for Integrative Biology, Interdisciplinary Science, and Bioinspired Engineering

Gecko Adhesion as a Model System for Integrative Biology, Interdisciplinary Science, and Bioinspired Engineering

Modeling observed animal performance using the Weibull distribution

Nonlinear variation in clinging performance with surface roughness in geckos

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