Our goal was to assess regional differences in denticle density and skin
tensile properties in four coastal species of shark. We hypothesized that the
denticle density, tensile strength (MPa), stiffness (MPa), and toughness of skin
(MJ·m^-3) would vary regionally along the body of an individual and among
species. An hourglass-shaped punch was used to extract the skin samples at 10
anatomical landmarks and denticle density was quantified. Denticle density
varied significantly among both regions and species, and showed a significant
species by region interaction. Skin samples were tested in tension at a strain
rate of 2 mm-s until failure. We found significant species and region effects for all
tensile and denticle density properties. Also, denticle density increases with skin
stiffness but decreases with toughness. Shark skin toughness is similar to that of mammalian tendons. These data show shark skin functions as an exotendon,
able to conserve energy during swimming. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fau.edu/oai:fau.digital.flvc.org:fau_33907 |
| Contributors | Creager, Shelby (author), Porter, Marianne C. (Thesis advisor), Florida Atlantic University (Degree grantor), Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | Florida Atlantic University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 46 p., application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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