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. 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 K.S. Sheldon ( ) • A. Chuang Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] L. Zhao Department of Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA e-mail: [email protected] I.N. Panayotova Department of Mathematics, Christopher Newport University, Newport News, VA 23606, USA e-mail: [email protected] L.A. Miller Departments of Mathematics and Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA e-mail: [email protected] L. Bourouiba The Fluid Dynamics of Disease Transmission Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02130, USA e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing AG 2017 A.T. Layton, L.A. Miller (eds.), Women in Mathematical Biology, Association for Women in Mathematics Series 8, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-60304-9_9 163 164 K.S. Sheldon et al. favor ballooning, and previous mechanical models used to describe ballooning. We then highlight challenges and open questions relevant to future modeling of spider ballooning. 1 Ecology of Spider Dispersal Dispersal, or the movement of individuals from their birth location to a new location [10], is a critical stage in the life cycle of many species. The benefits of dispersal include reduced competition for resources (e.g., reproductive mates and food) and inbreeding avoidance [11, 30, 48], which may ultimately lead to greater survival and reproduction. Given the importance of dispersal for reproductive success, species have evolved a variety of mechanisms to move to new locations. One such mechanism that can be observed in spiders (Araneae) is a type of aerial dispersal called “ballooning” [5, 16]. To become airborne via ballooning, a spider first climbs to a high point and initiates a “tiptoe” posture in which it stands on the ends of its tarsi and elevates its abdomen (Fig. 1). The spider then releases one or more silk lines, or draglines, from its spinnerets [38]. With enough force on the dragline(s), the spider is lifted and becomes airborne [36, 38]. This “take-off” stage is followed by the “flight” stage in which individuals can travel as high as 5 km above ground [15] and as far as 3200 km in distance [23]. Finally, a spider reaches the “settling” stage when it lands in a new location. Because adult spiders can have hundreds of spiderlings—or young spiders— from a single reproductive event, ballooning allows spiderlings to avoid competition and cannibalism from siblings and conspecific adults [44]. Though some species of spider are known to balloon at any time of year and any phenological stage [45], other species balloon only during specific time periods and clearly defined stages [13]. Regardless of when they disperse, ballooning spiders rarely have a mass greater than 100 mg [38, 46] (but see [34] for exception), which suggests constraints on body size for aerial dispersal. In addition, wind speeds for take-off appear to always be below 3 m/s [44]. Despite all we know about ballooning and its importance in the ecology and evolution of spiders, the physical mechanisms related to this unique type of dispersal are still poorly understood. Generating a model for spider ballooning seems simple in practice, but it is a complex problem given the variety of parameters involved. Ballooning is used by a host of species that come in different shapes and sizes. Both inertial and viscous forces in the surrounding air are important. Models must also consider dragline properties, including number of threads, length, elasticity, electrostatics, and compliance as well as constraints on wind speed [44] and spider mass [38, 46]. After incorporating all of the various parameters, one is left with a host of possible regimes, and different regimes could dominate during the three stages of spider ballooning (i.e., take-off, flight, and settling). Revisiting the Physics of Spider Ballooning 165 Fig. 1 Prior to ballooning, spiders display a tiptoe behavior which involves standing on the ends of the tarsi, angling the abdomen upward, and releasing one or more silk draglines from spinnerets. © Sarah Rose Here, we review the existing literature on the physics of this fascinating mode of ecological dispersal and identify areas for future research. We first examine the relevant physics related to ballooning. We then discuss previous analytic models that researchers have used to parse out the dominant regimes. Finally, we highlight the remaining questions surrounding spider ballooning and how future research might address these questions.