Publications

Claverie, T., Chan, E. and Patek, S. N. (2011). Modularity and scaling in fast movements: power amplification in mantis shrimp. Evolution 62, 443-461.
Patek, S. N., Dudek, D. M. and Rosario, M. V. (2011). From bouncy legs to poisoned arrows: elastic movements in invertebrates. The Journal of Experimental Biology 214, 1973-1980.
Stillman, J. H., M. Denny, D. K. Padilla, M. Wake, S. Patek, B. Tsukimura. 2011. Grand opportunities: strategies for addressing grand challenges in organismal biology. Integrative and Comparative Biology. Published online.
Staaterman, E.R., C. W. Clark, A. J. Gallagher, M. S. deVries, T. Claverie, and S. N. Patek. 2011. Rumbling in the benthos: the acoustic ecology of the California mantis shrimp. Aquatic Biology 13: 97-105.
Taylor, J.R.A. and S.N. Patek. 2010. Ritualized fighting and biological armor: the impact mechanics of the mantis shrimp’s telson. Journal of Experimental Biology 213: 3496-3504.
Staaterman, E.R., T. Claverie and S.N. Patek. 2010. Disentangling defense: the function of spiny lobster sounds. Behaviour 147 (2): 235-258.
Patek, S.N., L.E. Shipp and E.R. Staaterman. 2009. The acoustics and acoustic behavior of the California spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus). Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 125(5):3434-3443.
Taylor, J.R.A. and S.N. Patek. 2009. Crustacean seismic communication: heard but not present?. In: The Use of Vibrations in Communication: Properties, Mechanisms and Function Across Taxa, ed. C. E. O'Connell-Rodwell, Research Signpost.
Zack, T. I., T. Claverie, and S.N. Patek. 2009. Elastic energy storage in the mantis shrimp’s fast predatory strike. Journal of Experimental Biology 212: 4002-4009.
Spagna, J.C., A. I. Vakis, C. A. Schmidt, S. N. Patek, X. Zhang, N. D. Tsutsui and A. V. Suarez. 2008. Phylogeny, scaling and the generation of extreme forces in trap-jaw ants.Journal of Experimenal Biology 211: 2358-2368.
Patek, S.N. and J.E. Baio. 2007. The acoustic mechanics of stick-slip friction in the California spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus). Journal of Experimenal Biology 210(20):3538-3546.
Patek, S.N., B.N. Nowroozi, J.E. Baio, R.L. Caldwell, and A.P. Summers. 2007. Linkage mechanics and power amplification of the mantis shrimp's strike. Journal of Experimenal Biology 210(20): 3677-3688.
Patek, S.N., R. M. Feldmann, M. Porter and D. Tshudy. 2006. Phylogeny and evolution of lobsters. In: "Lobsters: Biology, Management, Aquaculture and Fisheries", B. F. Phillips ed., Blackwell Publishing.
Patek, S.N., J. E. Baio, B. L. Fisher, A. V. Suarez. 2006. Multifunctionality and mechanical origins: ballistic jaw propulsion in trap-jaw ants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103 (34): 12787-12792.
Patek, S.N. and R. L. Caldwell. 2006. The stomatopod rumble: sound production in Hemisquilla californiensis. Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology 39(2): 99-111.
Patek, S.N. and R. L. Caldwell. 2005. Extreme impact and cavitation forces of a biological hammer: strike forces of the peacock mantis shrimp Odontodactylus scyllarus. Journal of Experimental Biology 208: 3655-3664.
Pringle, A, S. N. Patek, M. Fischer, J. Stolze, and N. Money. 2005. The captured launch of a ballistospore. Mycologia 97(4): 866-871.
Patek, S.N., W.L. Korff and R.L. Caldwell. 2004. Deadly strike mechanism of a mantis shrimp. Nature 428: 819-820.
McHenry, M.J. and S.N. Patek. 2004. The evolution of larval morphology and swimming performance in ascidians. Evolution 58(6):1209-1224.
Patek, S.N. and T.H. Oakley. 2003. Comparative tests of evolutionary tradeoffs in a palinurid lobster acoustic system. Evolution 57(9): 2082-2100.
Goldman, J.A. and S.N. Patek. 2002. Two sniffing strategies in palinurid lobsters. Journal of Experimental Biology 205: 3891-3902.
Patek, S.N. 2002. Squeaking with a sliding joint: mechanics and motor control of sound production in spiny lobsters. Journal of Experimental Biology 205: 2375-2385.
Patek, S.N. 2001. Spiny lobsters stick and slip to make sound. Nature 411: 153-154.
Colson, D.J., S.N. Patek, E.L. Brainerd, S.M. Lewis. 1998. Sound production during feeding in Hippocampus seahorses (Syngnathidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes 51: 221-229.
Brainerd, E.L. and S.N. Patek. 1998. Vertebral column morphology, C-start curvature, and the evolution of mechanical defenses in tetraodontiform fishes. Copeia 1998(4): 971-984.

Sound in the Sea

Arthropod acoustic communication is a primary focus at the Patek Lab. Here you can find our acoustically oriented research projects along with sounds and video of spiny lobsters (Palinuridae) and mantis shrimp (Stomatopoda).
Mechanics of Movement

The Patek Lab studies the mechanics of animal motion in both mantis shrimp (Stomatopoda) and ants. Here you can find these research projects along with images, sounds, and video of animal movement.
Why This Matters

Our research has larger implications both in the field of biology and our planet’s ecosystem. Explore connections between Patek Lab research and the surrounding world!

Phone: 413-577-4426

Morrill Science Center South - 332