Functional flexibility in a spider's Orb Web

Mulder, Tom; Mortimer, Beth; Vollrath, Fritz

doi:10.1242/jeb.234070

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(65 reference statements)

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“…In Tenuiphantes tenuis, a common sheet-web spider of European cereal agricultural fields, the pyrethroid cypermethrin had similar detrimental effects on web construction and activity as well as reduced reproduction and shortened lifespan [24]. Spiders can still detect prey in webs with distorted structure [25], though they take about twice as long to do so, increasing likelihood of prey escaping. Reduced disc size would reduce capture efficiency proportionally.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonlethal Effects of Pesticides on Web-Building Spiders Might Account for Rapid Mosquito Population Rebound after Spray Application

Rhoades

Stoddard

2021

Applied Sciences

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Spiders are important population regulators of insect pests that spread human disease and damage crops. Nonlethal pesticide exposure is known to affect behavior of arthropods. For spiders such effects include the inability to repair their webs or capture prey. In this study, nonlethal exposure of Mabel’s orchard spider (Leucauge argyrobapta) to the synthetic pyrethroid permethrin, via web application, interfered with web reconstruction and mosquito capture ability for 1–3 days. The timing of this loss-of-predator ecosystem function corresponds to the rapid population rebound of the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) following insecticide application to control arbovirus epidemics. We suggest this temporal association is functional and propose that follow-up study be conducted to evaluate its significance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonlethal Effects of Pesticides on Web-Building Spiders Might Account for Rapid Mosquito Population Rebound after Spray Application

Rhoades

Stoddard

2021

Applied Sciences

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“…Web-building is a dangerous process and rapid conclusion is of essence (Rypstra 1984;Vollrath 1992Vollrath , 1980Zschokke and Vollrath 1995). Final finetuning by adjusting the tensions once web-building is done is one way of finishing the trap (Mortimer et al 2016;Watanabe 2000), although it appears that spiders can also locate prey using vibrations in webs that are distorted, and in which tensions are changed (Mulder et al 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic environments do not appear to constrain spider web building behaviour

Mulder

Wilkins

Mortimer

et al. 2021

Sci Nat

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Many laboratory experiments demonstrate how orb-web spiders change the architecture of their webs in response to prey, surroundings and wind loading. The overall shape of the web and a range of other web parameters are determined by frame and anchor threads. In the wild, unlike the lab, the anchor threads are attached to branches and leaves that are not stationary but move, which affects the thread tension field. Here we experimentally test the effect of a moving support structure on the construction behaviour and web-parameters of the garden cross spider Araneus diadematus. We found no significant differences in building behaviour between rigid and moving anchors in total time spent and total distance covered nor in the percentage of the total time spent and distance covered to build the three major web components: radials, auxiliary and capture spirals. Moreover, measured key parameters of web-geometry were equally unaffected. These results call for re-evaluation of common understanding of spider webs as thread tensions are often considered to be a major factor guiding the spider during construction and web-operation.

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“…Because the webs consist of electrically conductive aqueous glue droplets distributed along comparatively insulating silk threads, it has been proposed that a charge separation is induced within the droplets when charged insects fly nearby, creating an attractive force between the web and prey species [152]. Thus the glue droplets on the spider web capture spiral provide additional functional properties to the web [153][154][155][156][157]. For centuries scientists have attempted to unlock the fantastic capabilities of silk for use in the prospective development of medical devices and biosensors through its ability to impact on microelectronic processes and it's light-manipulative properties [138,158,159].…”

Section: Spider Webs Are Electroconductive and Harvest Atmospheric Mo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

High Performance Marine and Terrestrial Bioadhesives and the Biomedical Applications They Have Inspired

Melrose

2022

Molecules

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This study has reviewed the naturally occurring bioadhesives produced in marine and freshwater aqueous environments and in the mucinous exudates of some terrestrial animals which have remarkable properties providing adhesion under difficult environmental conditions. These bioadhesives have inspired the development of medical bioadhesives with impressive properties that provide an effective alternative to suturing surgical wounds improving closure and healing of wounds in technically demanding tissues such as the heart, lung and soft tissues like the brain and intestinal mucosa. The Gecko has developed a dry-adhesive system of exceptional performance and has inspired the development of new generation re-usable tapes applicable to many medical procedures. The silk of spider webs has been equally inspiring to structural engineers and materials scientists and has revealed innovative properties which have led to new generation technologies in photonics, phononics and micro-electronics in the development of wearable biosensors. Man made products designed to emulate the performance of these natural bioadhesive molecules are improving wound closure and healing of problematic lesions such as diabetic foot ulcers which are notoriously painful and have also found application in many other areas in biomedicine. Armed with information on the mechanistic properties of these impressive biomolecules major advances are expected in biomedicine, micro-electronics, photonics, materials science, artificial intelligence and robotics technology.

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Functional flexibility in a spider's Orb Web

Cited by 6 publications

References 39 publications

Nonlethal Effects of Pesticides on Web-Building Spiders Might Account for Rapid Mosquito Population Rebound after Spray Application

Nonlethal Effects of Pesticides on Web-Building Spiders Might Account for Rapid Mosquito Population Rebound after Spray Application

Dynamic environments do not appear to constrain spider web building behaviour

High Performance Marine and Terrestrial Bioadhesives and the Biomedical Applications They Have Inspired

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