Derek Moulton

Title

Unlocking the mystery of interlocking shells

Abstract

A universal feature in seashells that consist of two halves is that when the shell closes the shell edge forms a continuum with no gaps or overlaps, despite the fact that it presents typically a wrinkling pattern of widely varying regularity and wavelength. It is a morphological feature of both brachiopods and bivalved mollusks, two phyla that diverged from a common shell-less evolutionary ancestor millions of years ago. Moreover, this trait is maintained throughout the entirety of development and persists even when the shell edge exhibits significant irregularity. In this talk, I describe a series of mathematical models we have developed, based on the physics of shell growth, to explain how this interlocking pattern is created and regulated. By close consideration of the geometry and mechanics of the shell secreting mantle, the mechanistic basis for the interlocking pattern is uncovered. I then demonstrate how a wide variety of patterns and morphological trends may be understood in simple physical terms.

Short bio 

Derek Moulton received his PhD from the University of Delaware in 2008. He came to Oxford in 2010 as a postdoc and became Associate Professor in the Wolfson Centre for Mathematical Biology in the Mathematical Insitute in Oxford in 2013. His research interests are in applying mathematical modelling and solid and fluid mechanics problems in: mechanical biology and physiology, growth and pattern formation, biomedical applications, morphoelasticity, and uncovering elastic mechanisms in nature.