Revisiting the Physics of Spider Ballooning
Spiders use a unique type of aerial dispersal called “ballooning” to move from one location to another. In order to balloon, a spider must first release one or more flexible, elastic, silk draglines from its spinnerets. Once enough force is generated on the dragline(s), the spider becomes airborne....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer International Publishing
2020
|
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/125314 |
| _version_ | 1811077191739375616 |
|---|---|
| author | Sheldon, Kimberly S. Zhao, Longhua Chuang, Angela Panayotova, Iordanka N. Miller, Laura A. Bourouiba, Lydia |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Fluid Dynamics of Disease Transmission Laboratory |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Fluid Dynamics of Disease Transmission Laboratory Sheldon, Kimberly S. Zhao, Longhua Chuang, Angela Panayotova, Iordanka N. Miller, Laura A. Bourouiba, Lydia |
| author_sort | Sheldon, Kimberly S. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Spiders use a unique type of aerial dispersal called “ballooning” to move from one location to another. In order to balloon, a spider must first release one or more flexible, elastic, silk draglines from its spinnerets. Once enough force is generated on the dragline(s), the spider becomes airborne. This “take-off” stage of ballooning is followed by the “flight” stage and finally the “settling” stage when spiders land in a new location. Though the ecology of spider ballooning is well understood, little is known about the physical mechanisms. This is in part due to the significant challenge of describing the relevant physics for spiders that are ballooning across large distances. One difficulty, for example, is that properties of both the spider, such as body size and shape, and the silk dragline(s) can vary among species and individuals. In addition, the relevant physics may differ among the three stages of ballooning. Finally, models must take into account the interaction between the flexible dragline and air, and resolving this multi–scale, fluid–structure interaction can be particularly difficult. Here, we review the literature on spider ballooning, including the relevant physics, meteorological conditions that favor ballooning, and previous mechanical models used to describe ballooning. We then highlight challenges and open questions relevant to future modeling of spider ballooning. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:39:15Z |
| format | Book |
| id | mit-1721.1/125314 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:39:15Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | Springer International Publishing |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1253142022-09-27T14:01:58Z Revisiting the Physics of Spider Ballooning Sheldon, Kimberly S. Zhao, Longhua Chuang, Angela Panayotova, Iordanka N. Miller, Laura A. Bourouiba, Lydia Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Fluid Dynamics of Disease Transmission Laboratory Spiders use a unique type of aerial dispersal called “ballooning” to move from one location to another. In order to balloon, a spider must first release one or more flexible, elastic, silk draglines from its spinnerets. Once enough force is generated on the dragline(s), the spider becomes airborne. This “take-off” stage of ballooning is followed by the “flight” stage and finally the “settling” stage when spiders land in a new location. Though the ecology of spider ballooning is well understood, little is known about the physical mechanisms. This is in part due to the significant challenge of describing the relevant physics for spiders that are ballooning across large distances. One difficulty, for example, is that properties of both the spider, such as body size and shape, and the silk dragline(s) can vary among species and individuals. In addition, the relevant physics may differ among the three stages of ballooning. Finally, models must take into account the interaction between the flexible dragline and air, and resolving this multi–scale, fluid–structure interaction can be particularly difficult. Here, we review the literature on spider ballooning, including the relevant physics, meteorological conditions that favor ballooning, and previous mechanical models used to describe ballooning. We then highlight challenges and open questions relevant to future modeling of spider ballooning. 2020-05-19T16:23:30Z 2020-05-19T16:23:30Z 2017-08 2020-05-15T12:48:07Z Book http://purl.org/eprint/type/ConferencePaper 9783319603025 9783319603049 2364-5733 2364-5741 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/125314 Sheldon, K.S. et al. "Revisiting the Physics of Spider Ballooning." Women in Mathematical Biology 8 (August 2017): 163-178 © 2017 The Author(s) and the Association for Women in Mathematics en http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60304-9_9 Women in Mathematical Biology Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ application/pdf Springer International Publishing Other repository |
| spellingShingle | Sheldon, Kimberly S. Zhao, Longhua Chuang, Angela Panayotova, Iordanka N. Miller, Laura A. Bourouiba, Lydia Revisiting the Physics of Spider Ballooning |
| title | Revisiting the Physics of Spider Ballooning |
| title_full | Revisiting the Physics of Spider Ballooning |
| title_fullStr | Revisiting the Physics of Spider Ballooning |
| title_full_unstemmed | Revisiting the Physics of Spider Ballooning |
| title_short | Revisiting the Physics of Spider Ballooning |
| title_sort | revisiting the physics of spider ballooning |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/125314 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sheldonkimberlys revisitingthephysicsofspiderballooning AT zhaolonghua revisitingthephysicsofspiderballooning AT chuangangela revisitingthephysicsofspiderballooning AT panayotovaiordankan revisitingthephysicsofspiderballooning AT millerlauraa revisitingthephysicsofspiderballooning AT bourouibalydia revisitingthephysicsofspiderballooning |