Back Resists Wear and Tear

Biological Strategy

Deathstalker scorpion

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Protect From Dirt/solids

When dirt and other small solids adhere to living systems, they can slow them down, create blockages, reduce their ability to carry out vital functions, or cause surface wear and tear. Due to electrostatic forces, it’s easy for dirt and other solids to adhere to surfaces, so living systems must overcome those forces. An earthworm, for example, uses a small electric current to keep soil particles from adhering to its body as it moves through the soil. This enables it to move more efficiently by reducing drag.

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Manage Mechanical Wear

A living system is subject to mechanical wear when two parts rub against each other or when the living system comes in contact with abrasive components in its environment, such as sand or coral. Some abrasive components are a constant force, such as finger joints moving, while others occur infrequently, such as a sand storm moving across a desert. Living systems protect from mechanical wear using strategies appropriate to the level and frequency of the source, such as having abrasion-resistant surfaces, replaceable parts, or lubricants. For example, human joints like shoulders and knees move against each other all day, every day. To protect from mechanical wear, a lubricant reduces friction between the cartilage and the joint.

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Arachnids

Class Arachnida (“spider”): Spiders, mites, ticks, scorpions

Arachnids get a bad reputation, but they play an important role in the ecosystem by controlling insect populations. Almost half of the species in the class are spiders, and most live in terrestrial environments. Unlike insects, most arachnids have two body sections: the cephalothorax, which is the head and thorax fused together, and the abdomen. Mites and ticks, on the other hand, have only one body section that is relatively flat. This body shape comes in handy for the species that are parasitic, because it makes it harder for their hosts to bite or scratch them off.

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The exoskeleton of the desert scorpion resists wear due to multiple coupling effects of surface morphology, material, and flexibility.

Image: Anatolii Kokoza /

Eating a cricket

Image: Ester Inbar, available from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:ST /

Deathstalker

“The desert scorpion (Leiurus quinquestriatus), which is a typical animal dwelling in sandy deserts, is taken as the research object. Generally, most deserts have strong windy conditions, but scorpions, which are subjected to such blustery conditions, only suffer minor scratches, proving that they have developed high wear resistance ability. The adaptability of desert scorpion is attributed to the natural selection, which happened over millions of years of evolution. Previous studies on the desert scorpion showed that the dorsal surface of mesosoma was the major area subjected to sand erosion. The mechanism of its sand erosion resistance was investigated. The anti-erosion trend characteristics and mechanism of desert scorpion’s surface under the dynamic effects of gas/solid mixed media were studied, especially the comprehensive influence of surface morphology, microstructure, creature flexibility and many other factors were studied also. The results showed that erosion resistance of desert scorpion back is a result of multiple coupling effects. Surface morphology, material, and flexibility are biological coupling elements which play an important role in resisting erosion for the back of desert scorpion.” (Han et al. 2010:S50-S51)

Last Updated September 14, 2016

References

Journal article

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