Strong attachment as an adaptation of flightless weevils on windy oceanic islands
Journal article
Wang, L-Y., Lin, C-Y., Gorb, S.N. and Rajabi Jorshari, H. (2023). Strong attachment as an adaptation of flightless weevils on windy oceanic islands. Journal of The Royal Society Interface. 20 (208), p. 20230447. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2023.0447
Authors | Wang, L-Y., Lin, C-Y., Gorb, S.N. and Rajabi Jorshari, H. |
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Abstract | Enhanced attachment ability is common in plants on islands to avoid potential fatal passive dispersal. However, whether island insects also have increased attachment ability remains unclear. Here we measured the attachment of a flightless weevil, Pachyrhynchus sarcitis kotoensis, from tropical islands, and compared it with documented arthropods from the mainland. We examined the morphology and material gradient of its attachment devices to identify the specific adaptive modifications for attachment. We find that the weevil has much stronger attachment force and higher safety factor than previously studied arthropods, regardless of body size and substrate roughness. This probably results from the specific flexible bases of the adhesive setae on the third footpad of the legs. This softer material on the setal base has not been reported hitherto and we suggest that it acts as a flexible hinge to form intimate contact to substrate more effectively. By contrast, no morphological difference in tarsomeres and setae between the weevil and other beetles is observed. Our results show the remarkably strong attachment of an island insect and highlights the potential adaptive benefits of strong attachment in windy island environment. The unique soft bases of the adhesive hairs may inspire the development of strong biomimetic adhesives. |
Year | 2023 |
Journal | Journal of The Royal Society Interface |
Journal citation | 20 (208), p. 20230447 |
Publisher | The Royal Society |
ISSN | 1742-5662 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2023.0447 |
Web address (URL) | https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2023.0447 |
Publication dates | |
Online | 22 Nov 2023 |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 30 Oct 2023 |
Deposited | 28 Nov 2023 |
Publisher's version | License File Access Level Open |
https://openresearch.lsbu.ac.uk/item/95qyz
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Publisher's version
wang-et-al-2023-strong-attachment-as-an-adaptation-of-flightless-weevils-on-windy-oceanic-islands.pdf | ||
License: CC BY 4.0 | ||
File access level: Open |
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