Thesis subject
The influence of mucus on the suction power of suction cups
Cuttlefish catch their prey using their suction cups. But how do those suction cups actually work?
Cuttlefish are very smart and complex animals, which can even pass the Marshmallow test (Paper: Cuttlefish exert self-control in a delay of gratification task)! However, we are especially curious about their suction cups and what mechanism they use for that. So far it is not known how these suction cups work. Do they use pure suction? And what role does mucus play in force production? If you would like to work with cuttlefish suction cups and perform force measurements, please feel free to contact us!
During this thesis project you will learn to build an experimental setup, perform 3D printing, perform force and pressure measurements and analyze the data. There is also room to come up with and implement your own ideas. After collecting data, you will use statistical analysis to interpret the results.
Skills used:
- Building experimental set-up
- 3D printing
- performing force and pressure measurements
- statistical analysis
Are you interested? Please contact via ezo.thesis@wur.nl