[文獻分享] Surface Tension Transport of Prey by Feeding Shorebirds: The Capillary Ratchet

有沒有人要挑戰這篇?　看看水鳥怎麼靠牠的嘴（不是吸管喔，比較像一雙筷子）來喝水和吃水中的食物！（作者 John Bush 是 David Hu 的 Ph.D. advisor）

Science 16 May 2008: Vol. 320. no. 5878, pp. 931 - 934
Surface Tension Transport of Prey by Feeding Shorebirds: The Capillary Ratchet

Manu Prakash,¹ David Quéré,² John W. M. Bush³
The variability of bird beak morphology reflects diverse foraging strategies. One such feeding mechanism in shorebirds involves surface tension–induced transport of prey in millimetric droplets: By repeatedly opening and closing its beak in a tweezering motion, the bird moves the drop from the tip of its beak to its mouth in a stepwise ratcheting fashion. We have analyzed the subtle physical mechanism responsible for drop transport and demonstrated experimentally that the beak geometry and the dynamics of tweezering may be tuned to optimize transport efficiency. We also highlight the critical dependence of the capillary ratchet on the beak's wetting properties, thus making clear the vulnerability of capillary feeders to surface pollutants.

導讀: Science : Perspective
Biophysics: The Intrigue of the Interface, by Mark W. Denny
from: Science 16 May 2008: Vol. 320. no. 5878, p. 886