Increase in hydrostatic pressure forces blood from pores
21. Concentrating blood lightens weight: vampire bats
"[Bat] stomachs can hold a volume of blood equal to 57 percent of their body mass, but they can't fly with this much extra weight. The problem is solved by rapidly getting rid of water and lightening their load before taking off. Within two minute...
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22. Secretions deter predators: grasshoppers
"A number of insects also release blood in order to deter predators. Some of the most dramatic examples occur among grasshoppers of the genus Dictyophorus. When threatened, hydrostatic pressure within the grasshopper's body increases, forcing bloo...
23. Using hydrostatic pressure around a seal.
The aortic valve is part of the flexible aortic artery that aids the circulation of blood through the heart. Pressure rises in the left ventricle during contraction of the muscles of the left and right ventricles. When the pressure of the left ven...
24. Leaves protect from the elements: conifers
"Some species of tree, even outside the balmy climates of the tropics, manage to produce a kind of leaf that can survive both drought and cold. Conifers do so. Many of them grow branches that, instead of rising upwards towards the sky, slope gentl...
25. Blood flow regulates heat exchange: alligator
"Alligators possess several thermoregulatory abilities that may be of interest to architects. First, alligators have the ability to drop their body temperature when they are not receiving enough oxygen. This seems to offset changes that would othe...
26. Small structures burrow efficiently: earthworms
"From the work of Quillin (2000), we have some information on the forces that earthworms can exert against the walls of their burrows. The worms push hard, with radial forces running about seven times the anchoring forces involved in crawling in p...
27. Defense mechanism deters predators: wood snakes
"There are certain snakes in the world that autohemorrhage and none of them is more effective than the West Indian wood snakes (Tropidophis spp.). Related to the great boa constrictors of Central and South America, these snakes perform a series of...
28. Internal pressure provides support: potato
The cellular structure of a potato holds high internal pressure, which is exerted evenly on the internal surface of the potato skin. (Courtesy of the Biomimicry Guild)
29. Large ears used to cool off: jackrabbit
"Many desert animals have large ears, and the jack rabbit is no exception. It has been suggested that large ears, with their network of blood vessels, may serve to radiate heat to the sky while the animal is resting in the shade, so helping to low...
30. Gas-holding structure aids buoyancy: cuttlefish
"Cuttlefish (which look like bulgy squid) have a foamlike or corrugated cuttlebone containing a gas mixture at nearly constant pressure (fig. 5.1)." (Vogel 2003: 97)
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