Hydration affects the physical and mechanical properties of baleen tissue
Baleen, an anisotropic oral filtering tissue found only in the mouth of mysticete whales and made solely of alpha-keratin, exhibits markedly differing physical and mechanical properties between dried or (as in life) hydrated states. On average baleen is 32.35% water by weight in North Atlantic right...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:283a799c27e84054b3bf2a5157484296 2023-05-15T15:35:59+02:00 Hydration affects the physical and mechanical properties of baleen tissue Alexander J. Werth Robert W. Harriss Michael V. Rosario J. Craig George Todd L. Sformo 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160591 https://doaj.org/article/283a799c27e84054b3bf2a5157484296 EN eng The Royal Society https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.160591 https://doaj.org/toc/2054-5703 2054-5703 doi:10.1098/rsos.160591 https://doaj.org/article/283a799c27e84054b3bf2a5157484296 Royal Society Open Science, Vol 3, Iss 10 (2016) mysticete whale stiffness histology biomechanics hydrophilic Science Q article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160591 2022-12-31T14:00:04Z Baleen, an anisotropic oral filtering tissue found only in the mouth of mysticete whales and made solely of alpha-keratin, exhibits markedly differing physical and mechanical properties between dried or (as in life) hydrated states. On average baleen is 32.35% water by weight in North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) and 34.37% in bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus). Baleen's wettability measured by water droplet contact angles shows that dried baleen is hydrophobic whereas hydrated baleen is highly hydrophilic. Three-point flexural bending tests of mechanical strength reveal that baleen is strong yet ductile. Dried baleen is brittle and shatters at about 20–30 N mm−2 but hydrated baleen is less stiff; it bends with little force and absorbed water is squeezed out when force is applied. Maximum recorded stress was 4× higher in dried (mean 14.29 N mm−2) versus hydrated (mean 3.69 N mm−2) baleen, and the flexural stiffness was >10× higher in dried (mean 633N mm−2) versus hydrated (mean 58 N mm−2) baleen. In addition to documenting hydration's powerful effects on baleen, this study indicates that baleen is far more pliant and malleable than commonly supposed, with implications for studies of baleen's structure and function as well as its susceptibility to oil or other hydrophobic pollutants. Article in Journal/Newspaper Balaena mysticetus Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Royal Society Open Science 3 10 160591 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
mysticete whale stiffness histology biomechanics hydrophilic Science Q |
spellingShingle |
mysticete whale stiffness histology biomechanics hydrophilic Science Q Alexander J. Werth Robert W. Harriss Michael V. Rosario J. Craig George Todd L. Sformo Hydration affects the physical and mechanical properties of baleen tissue |
topic_facet |
mysticete whale stiffness histology biomechanics hydrophilic Science Q |
description |
Baleen, an anisotropic oral filtering tissue found only in the mouth of mysticete whales and made solely of alpha-keratin, exhibits markedly differing physical and mechanical properties between dried or (as in life) hydrated states. On average baleen is 32.35% water by weight in North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) and 34.37% in bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus). Baleen's wettability measured by water droplet contact angles shows that dried baleen is hydrophobic whereas hydrated baleen is highly hydrophilic. Three-point flexural bending tests of mechanical strength reveal that baleen is strong yet ductile. Dried baleen is brittle and shatters at about 20–30 N mm−2 but hydrated baleen is less stiff; it bends with little force and absorbed water is squeezed out when force is applied. Maximum recorded stress was 4× higher in dried (mean 14.29 N mm−2) versus hydrated (mean 3.69 N mm−2) baleen, and the flexural stiffness was >10× higher in dried (mean 633N mm−2) versus hydrated (mean 58 N mm−2) baleen. In addition to documenting hydration's powerful effects on baleen, this study indicates that baleen is far more pliant and malleable than commonly supposed, with implications for studies of baleen's structure and function as well as its susceptibility to oil or other hydrophobic pollutants. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Alexander J. Werth Robert W. Harriss Michael V. Rosario J. Craig George Todd L. Sformo |
author_facet |
Alexander J. Werth Robert W. Harriss Michael V. Rosario J. Craig George Todd L. Sformo |
author_sort |
Alexander J. Werth |
title |
Hydration affects the physical and mechanical properties of baleen tissue |
title_short |
Hydration affects the physical and mechanical properties of baleen tissue |
title_full |
Hydration affects the physical and mechanical properties of baleen tissue |
title_fullStr |
Hydration affects the physical and mechanical properties of baleen tissue |
title_full_unstemmed |
Hydration affects the physical and mechanical properties of baleen tissue |
title_sort |
hydration affects the physical and mechanical properties of baleen tissue |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160591 https://doaj.org/article/283a799c27e84054b3bf2a5157484296 |
genre |
Balaena mysticetus Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Balaena mysticetus Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic |
op_source |
Royal Society Open Science, Vol 3, Iss 10 (2016) |
op_relation |
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.160591 https://doaj.org/toc/2054-5703 2054-5703 doi:10.1098/rsos.160591 https://doaj.org/article/283a799c27e84054b3bf2a5157484296 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160591 |
container_title |
Royal Society Open Science |
container_volume |
3 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
160591 |
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