Thesis subject

How does climate change effect suction performance in the veined squid?

Cuttlefish and squid have a unique suction cup morphology that is characterized by a hard sucker ring. This sucker ring provides rigidity, preventing the soft muscle tissue of the suction cup folds inward during strong suction.

Previous research has highlighted that the sucker ring consists of suckerin, a protein structure that is highly dependent on temperature. In fact, the researchers stated that with an increase of 2-3 degrees Celsius, the stiffness decreases with almost 40%, which forms an important threat for squid due to climate change. We want to study if this actually has detrimental effects on the suction performance of squid.

We are looking for a motivated and independent Master student who is interested in measuring sucker performance and characterizing squid inspired suction cups. During this thesis project, you will first test squid sucker suction performance at different temperatures. We will combine this with squid inspired suction cup models with sucker rings of different stiffness to test how much effect a softer sucker ring has. Together, this will give us better insight how climate change might affect suction performance and ultimately squid survival.

Left: An European squid. Right: Rigidity of the sucker ring at different temperatures, from 40 degrees onwards the ring undergoes a transition and becomes very soft. However already at 10-25 degrees, the stiffness can drop up to 40% (Helft et al., 2024)
Left: An European squid. Right: Rigidity of the sucker ring at different temperatures, from 40 degrees onwards the ring undergoes a transition and becomes very soft. However already at 10-25 degrees, the stiffness can drop up to 40% (Helft et al., 2024)

If you are interested in studying morphology and want to learn a range of cool techniques, do not hesitate to contact us via ezo.thesis@wur.nl to ask for the options.