Ultrastructure and Mechanics of the Arthropod Integument

S. Gorb has recently followed the call for a professorship/ chair in zoology. His lab works on the structure and mechanical properties of biological materials to aid in understanding the relationship between structure and function. Arthropod cuticle from the mouthparts of marine organisms is the most interesting material to study. Arthropod cuticle serves many functions. It limits the dimensions of an exoskeleton and is a basis for muscle insertions (mechanical function and function of locomotion). It is an important element in organism defence against a variety of external factors, such as mechanical stress, dry, wet, cold or hot environments. It takes part in the transport of diverse epidermal secretions, and serves as a chemical reservoir for the storage of metabolic waste products. Specialised cuticular protuberances may serve a variety of functions, such as oxygen retention, food grinding, body cleaning (grooming), etc. We will apply scanning and transmission electron microscopy techniques as well as the broad spectrum of mechanical tests to reveal combination of structure and material properties of crustacean mouthparts responsible for mechanical damage of protist skeletons.