adhere water
41. Threads adhere underwater: sea cucumber
"Patrick Flammang of the University of Mons, Belgium, is studying the sea cucumber. The sea cucumber, a relative of the starfish, protects itself from predators by ejecting, in a matter of seconds, fine, sticky threads that entangle an attacker an...
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Email42. Leaf arrangement collects water: epiphytes
"Collospermums are more specialized as epiphytes…The form of the nests is similar to those of the astelias, but the leaves are different. They are broadly rounded at the base and arranged in wide fans with enclosed spaces between them that ...
43. Dew Bank Bottle
Inspired by the fog-gathering technique of the Namib desert beetle, the Dew Bank Bottle is designed to harvest water from the air. Designed by Kitae Pak, the stainless steel, dome-shaped invention resembles the desert beetle's body. The Dew Bank B...
44. Grooves gather water: thorny devil
"The thorny devil, a tiny highly specialised lizard from the central Australian desert which lives entirely on ants has each scale enlarged and drawn out to a point in the centre. Few birds could relish such a thorny mouthful and to that extent, t...
45. Capsules launch seeds: Namaqualand mesems
"Most of the Namaqualand mesems [Mesembryanthemums], as they are known for short, do not scatter their seeds after flowering but retain them in capsules. The structure of these devices is usually very intricate indeed. When the first rain falls, p...
46. Expanding barbules hold water.
Most birds develop multiple strategies to avoid saturation of their feathers. The sandgrouse is a notable exception; sandgrouse feathers are adapted to hold water. These birds live mostly in dry sandy deserts and scrubland. When breeding, the bird...
47. Nest sheds water: tropical hornet
"The conical shape of the [nest of the] tropical hornet Vespa affinis leads rain water efficiently away from the nest." (Pallasmaa 1995:12)
48. Tentacles adhere underwater: octopus
"Naturally, nothing precludes an organism from using some combination of adhesive mechanisms; and determining relative contributions can be sticky. The sucker of an octopus works by suction almost exclusively." (Vogel 2003:429)
49. Wiry tangles capture fog: lichens
"The Namib close to the coast does, however, have one source of moisture that most deserts lack. Almost every day, a fog rolls in from the sea, billowing across the dunes. On slopes where little else can survive, a lichen grows in a great orange c...
50. Eggs adhere in seawater: cuttlefish
"The eggs of [cuttlefish] have sticky surfaces that enable them to adhere to cavities in the deeps of the sea." (Yahya 2002:112)
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