Have you ever wondered how water spiders survive underwater? It all comes down a well- spun home! Recently scientists at the University of Bern in Switzerland conducted a study that examined eight female water spiders.
This new research has revealed that these spiders survive underwater as they live in tiny scuba tanks that they spin around themselves. Made with their own silk, these scuba tanks or air bells serve as reservoirs for oxygen which allow them to breathe. Indeed as these small brown arachnids are air breathers, they have adapted the air bell system to gather, monitor and replenish oxygen from the atmosphere.
Co- author of this study, Michael Taborsky observes:
The water spider’s air bell is in some ways working like an external lung.
So how does this contraption actually work?
Water spider uses the short hair on its abdomen and legs to trap air bubbles from the water’s surface. It then carries them back to the silken tanks. As the spider fills the web with air, the structure morph into bell shape and acquires a silvery sheen. Acting as a filter, the silk layer allows the oxygen in while expels the carbon dioxide. This means that the spider will not have to replenish the air supply in the tank too often.
Interestingly, the air bell also serve other purposes. Paul Selden of the University of Kansas who was not involved in this particular study noted:
(The water spider) uses this air bell as a place to live away from terrestrial predators and as a safe nest in which to keep her eggs and tend the young spiderlings.
Further, it also acts as a safe haven for breeding and hiding prey.
Found in ponds throughout northern and central Europe, the water spider is the only spider that spends its entire life underwater. This research will appear in the October issue of the Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A.
Via: National Geographic
Image: Wikimedia
