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Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Armor

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Full-Text Articles in Marine Biology

It Pays To Be Bumpy: Drag Reducing Armor In The Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker, Eumicrotremus Orbis, R. C. Hoover, Olivia H. Hawkins, Jack Rosen, Conrad D. Wilson, Callie H. Crawford, Meghan Holst, Jonathan M. Huie, Adam P. Summers, Cassandra M. Donatelli, Karly E. Cohen Jun 2023

It Pays To Be Bumpy: Drag Reducing Armor In The Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker, Eumicrotremus Orbis, R. C. Hoover, Olivia H. Hawkins, Jack Rosen, Conrad D. Wilson, Callie H. Crawford, Meghan Holst, Jonathan M. Huie, Adam P. Summers, Cassandra M. Donatelli, Karly E. Cohen

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Armor is a multipurpose set of structures that has evolved independently at least 30 times in fishes. In addition to providing protection, armor can manipulate flow, increase camouflage, and be sexually dimorphic. There are potential tradeoffs in armor function: increased impact resistance may come at the cost of maneuvering ability; and ornate armor may offer visual or protective advantages, but could incur excess drag. Pacific spiny lumpsuckers (Eumicrotremus orbis) are covered in rows of odontic, cone-shaped armor whorls, protecting the fish from wave driven impacts and the threat of predation. We are interested in measuring the effects of …