Research Interests

The research presently being conducted in my laboratory is focused on the experimental analysis of morphology. Using engineering theory in solid and fluid mechanics, hypotheses of the functional significance of a given morphology can be generated and tested against specific predictions derived from engineering theory. This method, by its nature, involving generating hypotheses of both the function of a morphology and the mechanism involved in carrying out that function not only aid in the design of experiments to test a presumed function but also often lead to specific predictions of the behavior, ecology, or physiology of an animal, which then maybe also be tested. My students are continually working on a broad variety of problems, usually related to my own research only in that their problems involves biomechanics. Work performed under my supervision has ranged from the evolutionary history and mechanics of suspension feeling in stalked crimoids to the evolutionary history of murcid gastropods, the design of the vertebral ossicles in ophiuroids, the ontogeny of muscle systems and swimming in fish, and burrowing in limbless tetraprods.

Although I am presently involved in investigations of the mechanical properties of snail shells, the evolution of swimming in scallops, and the hydrodynamics of flow past crinoid tube foot arrays, my primary research interest lies in the design of fluid transport system in invertebrates and vertebrates. A broad variety of animals utilize bulk flow through a network of interconnecting vessels to facilitate feeling or internal transport. I have shown that the architecture of the transport systems of animal as diverse as sponges, arthropods, and mammals is consistent with an optimization principle known as Murray's Law; fossil sponges maintained a fluid transport system that averaged only about 2% above the optimal configuration in energetic terms. Such close approximation to the theoretical ideal is probably achieved by a negative feedback system involving sensing local velocity gradients in the vessels and appropriately remodeling the walls; a globally optimal system can be produced by local responses of cells to their immediate environment. Work is in progress on the architecture and hydrodynamics of fluid transport systems of a broad variety in invertebrates and vertebrates.

Selected Publications

Frolich, L.M., M. LaBarbera, and W.P. Stevens. 1994. Poisson's ratio of a crossed fiber sheath: the skin of aquatic salamanders. J. Zool., Lond. 232:231-252.

LaBarbera, M. 1995. The design of fluid transport systems: a comparative perspective. pp. 3-27 in J.A. Bevan, G. Kaley, and G.M. Rubanyi, eds. Flow Dependent Regulation of Vascular Function. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 371 pp.

Seilacher, A. and M. LaBarbera. 1995. Ammonites as Cartesian divers. Palaios 10:493-506.

Gili, E. and M. LaBarbera. In press. Hydrodynamic behaviour of long cylindrical rudist shells: ecological consequences. Geobios.

Life at the Botany Pond

Explore life at the Botany Pond - by Michael LaBarbera. Viewing requires QuickTime; file size 3.7MB).

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