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London, July 6 (PL) A team of biologists has discovered that flying spiders respond to an electrostatic force generated between the multiple strands of silk spreading as a fan While traveling, Current Biology magazine stands out.
"We wanted to know if there were any other external forces. like aerodynamic resistance that could trigger the flight and what sensory system could be used to detect this stimulus. "Morley noted that spider silk is an effective insulator, but until now it was not known that these arthropods could detect and respond to electric fields in the same way as bees.
The solution to the mystery could be in the atmospheric potential gradient, a global electrical circuit that is still present in the atmosphere.
The discovery has applications that surpbad the world of spiders, air dispersion is a crucial biological process for many caterpillars and mites. "According to Mr. Morley the better understanding of the mechanisms underlying this system will be of great importance to global ecology
. it lead to a better description of population dynamics, species distribution. and ecological resilience.
Up to now, scientists had attributed the behavior of these wingless arthropods. the "balloon flight" where spiders can be transported for thousands of kilometers, releasing traces of silk that drag them into the wind.
oda / mfg / cvl
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