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Discover Nature's Strategies

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Design Principles from Nature TASK: Share Your Natural Strategies and Design Principles

TASK: Share Your Natural Strategies and Design Principles

Enter the Natural Strategies for each of your Research Questions, including the name of the organism and a description of the Strategy. Then, add the Design Principle you have developed based on the Strategy. If you used the Species Report Cards you will have all the information you need on these.

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The information below is taken from the Example Team, and is intended to give an idea of what a good response to this task might look like. You can continue to browse through the Learning Journey by clicking the NEXT button below.

RESEARCH QUESTION: How does nature regulate temperatures?

Enter up to six Natural Strategies and Design Principles for your Research Question:

Termite Mounds - termites are able to regulate the temperature inside their mounds. Termites construct a chimney above their nest with smaller tunnels radiating outwards to the outer walls. During the daytime the outer walls of the mound warm up and air inside the mound near to the surface also warms up. The process of convection draws the warm air into the mound where it can then escape through the central chimney, and in the process warming the nest. At night time as the outside of the mound cools, the flow of air reverses.

Natural Strategy 1

Design Principle 1

Remove this Natural Strategy/Design Principle

Hornet and wasp cuticle - research shows that hornets and wasps regulate temperature using their cuticle as an electrical heat pump. The cuticle acts as a stack of thermocouples which in effect transfer heat from one part of the cuticle to another. Using small electrical charges, this could help transfer heat from the within the body to the outer layers where it can disperse. It could also work in the opposite direction in cold weather.

Natural Strategy 2

Design Principle 2

Remove this Natural Strategy/Design Principle

Dromedary camel - these desert animals use a combination of fur and sweat to stay cool. Sweat glands distributed throughout the skin allow heat to evaporate through water, similar to humans. 

The camel also has thick fur which does not impede evaporation, and also insulated the camel from incoming heat. The insulating properties of the fur reduce the heat transferred to the camel's body in three ways: it is light in colour to reflect light energy, trapped air within the fur creates space which minimises heat transfer by conduction, and individual hairs reduce the movement of air which reduces heat transfer by convection.

Natural Strategy 3

Design Principle 3

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Natural Strategy 4

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Natural Strategy 5

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Natural Strategy 6

Design Principle 6

RESEARCH QUESTION: How does nature reflect heat/solar energy?

Enter up to six Natural Strategies and Design Principles for your Research Question:

Saharan silver ant (world's fastest ant) - hairs on the ant are formed in such a way to reduce heat absorption by reflecting sunlight. The hairs are able to reflect light across a wide range of the electro-magnetic spectrum. The shape of the hairs is really important. The are aligned paralell to the skin and a triange shaped in cross-section. This makes them highly reflective under visible and near-visible infrared light. This enhanced reflectivity is one element in the ant's ability to reduce body temperature by 5-10 degrees compared with other ants.

Reference: https://www.washington.edu/news/2015/06/18/saharan-silver-ants-use-hair-to-survive-earths-hottest-temperatures/

Natural Strategy 1

Design Principle 1

Remove this Natural Strategy/Design Principle

Longhorn beetle (Neocerambyx gigas) - this beetle has a super reflective pair of forewings. The wings are covered with microscopic fluffs (they look like tiny hairs) which have a clever structure and shape to reflect light and increase heat emissivity. 

Each fluff is triangular in cross-section with two smooth sides and one corrugated. The corrugations help reflect near infrared light more easily, due to the angles created by the corrugations. The triangular shape encourages high internal reflectivity and helps to emitt mid-infrared light more easily.

Natural Strategy 2

Design Principle 2

Remove this Natural Strategy/Design Principle

Natural Strategy 3

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Natural Strategy 4

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Natural Strategy 5

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RESEARCH QUESTION: How does nature protect from high temperatures?

Enter up to six Natural Strategies and Design Principles for your Research Question:

Cacti - cacti create their own shade using a pattern of ridges and troughs. The ridges create shade for the troughs.

The ridges (or ribs) create shade for the trough which also means the air next to them is cooler and can absorb more heat from the cactus which then rises and disipates on the wind.

The ridges and troughs also create a bumpy surface which disturbs airflow, meaning there is more airflow to take away more heat from the cactus.

Natural Strategy 1

Design Principle 1

Remove this Natural Strategy/Design Principle

Natural Strategy 2

Design Principle 2

Natural Strategy 3

Design Principle 3

Natural Strategy 4

Design Principle 4

Natural Strategy 5

Design Principle 5

Natural Strategy 6

Design Principle 6

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