Superhydrophobicity and size reduction enabled Halobates (Insecta: Heteroptera, Gerridae) to colonize the open ocean
Type
ArticleAuthors
Mahadik, G. A.Hernandez Sanchez, Jose Federico
Arunachalam, Sankara

Gallo, A.
Cheng, L.
Farinha, A. S.
Thoroddsen, Sigurdur T

Mishra, Himanshu

Duarte, Carlos M.

KAUST Department
Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) DivisionEnvironmental Science and Engineering Program
High-Speed Fluids Imaging Laboratory
Interfacial Lab
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE) Division, Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE) Division, Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
Marine Science Program
Mechanical Engineering Program
Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) Division
Red Sea Research Center (RSRC)
Water Desalination and Reuse Research Center (WDRC)
Date
2020-05-08Online Publication Date
2020-05-08Print Publication Date
2020-12Submitted Date
2019-03-20Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/662806
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Show full item recordAbstract
Despite the remarkable evolutionary success of insects at colonizing every conceivable terrestrial and aquatic habitat, only five Halobates (Heteroptera: Gerridae) species (~0.0001% of all known insect species) have succeeded at colonizing the open ocean – the largest biome on Earth. This remarkable evolutionary achievement likely required unique adaptations for them to survive and thrive in the challenging oceanic environment. For the first time, we explore the morphology and behavior of an open-ocean Halobates germanus and a related coastal species H. hayanus to understand mechanisms of these adaptations. We provide direct experimental evidence based on high-speed videos which reveal that Halobates exploit their specialized and self-groomed body hair to achieve extreme water repellence, which facilitates rapid skating and plastron respiration under water. Moreover, the grooming behavior and presence of cuticular wax aids in the maintenance of superhydrophobicity. Further, reductions of their body mass and size enable them to achieve impressive accelerations (~400 ms−2) and reaction times (~12 ms) to escape approaching predators or environmental threats and are crucial to their survival under harsh marine conditions. These findings might also inspire rational strategies for developing liquid-repellent surfaces for drag reduction, water desalination, and preventing bio-fouling.Citation
Mahadik, G. A., Hernandez-Sanchez, J. F., Arunachalam, S., Gallo, A., Cheng, L., Farinha, A. S., … Duarte, C. M. (2020). Superhydrophobicity and size reduction enabled Halobates (Insecta: Heteroptera, Gerridae) to colonize the open ocean. Scientific Reports, 10(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-020-64563-7Sponsors
We thank Dr. Virginia A. Unkefer from Publication Services and Researcher Support at KAUST for editing the manuscript and Xavier Pita, Scientific illustrator at KAUST for enhancing Figures 1–3 and for creating Figure 4.Publisher
Springer NatureJournal
Scientific ReportsAdditional Links
http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-64563-7https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-64563-7.pdf
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1038/s41598-020-64563-7
Scopus Count
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Articles; Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE) Division; Red Sea Research Center (RSRC); Environmental Science and Engineering Program; Marine Science Program; Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) Division; Mechanical Engineering Program; Water Desalination and Reuse Research Center (WDRC)
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