Universität Kiel

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 crustaceans is a particularly interesting material to study, because it serves various functions. It limits the dimensions of an exoskeleton and is a basis for muscle insertions (mechanical function and function of control). Additionally, the cuticle of the mouthparts damages and wear during the grinding of protist skeletons. We suppose that specialised chemical composition, material structure and presence of particular surface outgrowths are responsible for the excellent performance of marine arthropod mouthparts. In this project, we 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.

Research interests: Biological attachment; functional morphology and biomechanics; evolution of structure and functions; behaviour of arthropods (especially problems of communication systems), animal-plant interactions

Research interests: Functional morphology and biomechanics of crustaceans; material composition and properties of crustacean mouthparts; ecology of Antarctic zooplankton and sea ice meiofauna; cryo-pelagic and pelago-benthic coupling in the Southern Ocean; electron microscopy; confocal laser scanning microscopy