The adhesion of single podia of Asterias rubens (Echinodermata) was tested under different conditions in order to determine those factors which have an effect on the adhesive forces. In common with many other marine organisms, the adhesion of the podia is sensitive to surface properties of the substratum. The effect of immersion and emersion on tenacity (force per unit area) has been tested. Working with the asteroids completely immersed in sea-water appears to be the best technique to measure the adhesive forces of the podia. The mean tenacity of the podia of A. rubens on glass underwater is 1·98×105 Nm−2.

The measurement of the adhesion strength of marine invertebrates and of its variation under different conditions may give clues to how marine bioadhesives function. Adhesive forces have usually been measured in invertebrates using either permanent or transitory adhesion, but only rarely recorded in animals using temporary adhesion (for review see Walker, 1987).

Of all macrobenthic organisms, echinoderms have exploited temporary adhesion most efficiently. In echinoderms, adhesive systems are usually associated with the podia and are involved in locomotion, attachment, feeding, or burrowing (Flammang, 1996). The paucity of information regarding the adhesive strength of echinoderm podia is due possibly to the fact that these animals possess a multitude of podia that are not all attached at the same time, making it difficult to evaluate the exact number of podia involved in adhesion at any precise instant in time. For example, maximum detachment forces involving many podia have been measured for several asteroid species. Feder (1955) measured up to 4 kg (39·64 N) in Pisaster ochraceus, Lavoie (1956) over 3 kg (29·43 N) in Asterias forbesi, and Christensen (1957) 5 kg (49·05 N) in Evasterias troscheli. Unfortunately, the number of podia adhering to the substratum was not estimated in any of these studies. It is not possible, therefore, to calculate tenacity (adhesive force per unit of surface area) which makes comparisons impossible either between these different asteroids or with other marine invertebrates (see Walker, 1987). Tenacity has been considered in only one study (Paine, 1926) where the mean adhesive force using single podia of the asteroid A. vulgaris was 17·2 g (0·17 N), giving, when divided by a mean measurement of the surface area of the podial discs, a tenacity of 1·25×105 N m2.