Electric Fields Elicit Ballooning in Spiders.
Electric Fields Elicit Ballooning in Spiders.
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DOI：
10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.057
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发表时间：
2018-07-23
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Robert D
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Morley EL;Robert D
当人们想到空气传播的生物时，通常不会想到蜘蛛。然而，这些没有翅膀的节肢动物在4公里高的天空中被发现，分散了数百公里。为了分散，蜘蛛用“气球”，它们爬到突出物的顶端，吐出丝，然后飘走。流行的观点是，来自微风的阻力使蜘蛛能够在空中飞行，但目前的空气动力学模型并不能完全解释气球的机制。全球大气电路和由此产生的大气势梯度（APG）提供了一种额外的力，这种力被用来解释气球膨胀。在这里，我们测试了一个假设，即与APG相称的电场（e-fields）可以被蜘蛛检测到，并且足以刺激气球膨胀。我们发现，垂直电场的存在引起了蜘蛛的气球行为和起飞。我们还研究了假定的感觉受体对电场和气流刺激的机械反应，表明蜘蛛的机械感觉毛发被弱电场机械激活。总而言之，收集到的证据揭示了一种足以驱动气球的电力驱动力。这些结果也表明，APG作为额外的气象信息，可以揭示从事气球的吉祥时间。我们认为大气电为我们理解和预测节肢动物的重要生态大规模迁移模式提供了关键信息。蜘蛛能探测到在自然大气条件下发现的电场水平气球行为是由这样的电场引发的。毛虱会对这样的电场和气流做出机械反应。电场和气流刺激会引起毛虱的不同位移。莫雷和罗伯特表明，蜘蛛能探测到电场，并通过尝试气球来对这种刺激做出反应。他们得出结论，大气静电可以提供足够的力量，使蜘蛛通过气球扩散，而毛发状的传感器被认为是电感受器。
When one thinks of airborne organisms, spiders do not usually come to mind. However, these wingless arthropods have been found 4 km up in the sky, dispersing hundreds of kilometers. To disperse, spiders “balloon,” whereby they climb to the top of a prominence, let out silk, and float away. The prevailing view is that drag forces from light wind allow spiders to become airborne, yet ballooning mechanisms are not fully explained by current aerodynamic models. The global atmospheric electric circuit and the resulting atmospheric potential gradient (APG) provide an additional force that has been proposed to explain ballooning. Here, we test the hypothesis that electric fields (e-fields) commensurate with the APG can be detected by spiders and are sufficient to stimulate ballooning. We find that the presence of a vertical e-field elicits ballooning behavior and takeoff in spiders. We also investigate the mechanical response of putative sensory receivers in response to both e-field and air-flow stimuli, showing that spider mechanosensory hairs are mechanically activated by weak e-fields. Altogether, the evidence gathered reveals an electric driving force that is sufficient for ballooning. These results also suggest that the APG, as additional meteorological information, can reveal the auspicious time to engage in ballooning. We propose that atmospheric electricity adds key information to our understanding and predictive capability of the ecologically important mass migration patterns of arthropod fauna. Spiders detect electric fields at levels found under natural atmospheric conditions Ballooning behavior is triggered by such electric fields Trichobothria mechanically respond to such electric fields, as well as to air flow Electric field and air flow stimuli elicit distinct displacements of trichobothria Morley and Robert show that spiders can detect electric fields and respond to this stimulus by attempting to balloon. They conclude that atmospheric electrostatics could provide forces sufficient for dispersal by ballooning in spiders and that hair-shaped sensors are putative electroreceptors.
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影响因子：
1.7
作者：
BISHOP, L
通讯作者：
BISHOP, L
影响因子：
56.9
作者：
Clarke, Dominic;Whitney, Heather;Robert, Daniel
通讯作者：
Robert, Daniel
DOI：
10.1007/s00114-017-1440-1
发表时间：
2017-04
期刊：
Die Naturwissenschaften
影响因子：
--
作者：
Nyffeler M;Birkhofer K
通讯作者：
Birkhofer K
影响因子：
2.7
作者：
HUMPHREY, JAC
通讯作者：
HUMPHREY, JAC
影响因子：
2.8
作者：
Muralidharan, K;Pasalu, IC
通讯作者：
Pasalu, IC