The krill then squirt the seawater sideways through their setal filters, entrapping algae in a feeding pattern much like the baleen whales. |
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If geckos were to rely solely on capillary adhesion for attachment, setal function could be constrained by relative humidity of the habitat. |
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The angle of the setal shaft was particularly important in achieving an adhesive bond. |
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If this is the case, setal morphology would have a greater effect on force of adhesion than surface chemistry of the seta or substrate. |
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Experiments using X-ray bombardment eliminated electrostatic attraction as a necessary mechanism for setal adhesion since the geckos were still able to adhere in ionized air. |
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Therefore, capillary forces are strong in the normal direction and weak in the parallel direction, whereas the opposite is true of setal adhesion. |
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To find out how the setae release particles, they first took setal arrays from tokay geckos and affixed them to acetate strips with cyanoacrylate gel. |
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Observation with a hand lens will reveal abundant, characteristically long, brown setal hyphae, 5-10 µm in diameter and up to 3 mm long, with a thickened wall, 1.5-2.5 µm, between the sheets of decayed wood. |
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