Invertebrates are a major group of organisms under study. More than 300 species of insects were studied using various microscopical methods. Insects are also rather convenient objects for force measurements (figure: syrphid fly Eristalis sp. used in studies of attachment pads)
Studies on vertebrates are restricted to the organisms bearing interesting adhesive and frictional devices. Gecko attachment pads and bird feather interlocking structures are the main systems under consideration (figure: single videoframe of the tokay gecko walking on a glass ceiling)
To understand the mechanisms of insect attachment to plants, information about plant surfaces is important. An external layer of plant epicuticular waxes that generally coats the cuticle surface strongly influences insect attachment (figure: flowers of an umbelliferan plant)
The phenomena, observed in studies on biological systems, often have to be modelled, using artificial materials, enabling an understanding of the biological system's functional principle by reducing the number of factors influencing results (figure: SEM picture of the structured surface of Spurr-resin)
Comparative studies. Mechanisms of animal attachment have fascinated scientists over the centuries, but the evolutionary aspects of an animal’s ability to walk on the ceiling still remain unexplored. For this reason our studies are not restricted to one particular organism. We perform broad comparative studies to extract information about the structural and functional principles of biological attachment devices and to understand evolutionary tendencies.
Experimental studies. We mainly work, experimentally, with several groups of model organisms: invertebrates (dragonflies (Odonata), flies (Diptera), beetles (Coleoptera), and bugs (Heteroptera)), vertebrates (lizards and birds), and plants. A particular species or group of species is selected depending on the system studied and question asked. Artificial materials are used for the design of model systems and as a reference material for a better understanding of some physical phenomena.
