Project-related publications
Junghanns, A.; Holm, C.; Schou, M.F.; Overgaard, J.; Malte, H.; Uhl, G.; Bilde, T. 2019. Physiological adaptations to extreme maternal and allomaternal care in spiders. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 7:305. PDF
Junghanns, A.; Holm, C.; Schou, M. F.; Sørensen, A.B.; Uhl, G. & Bilde, T. 2017. Extreme allomaternal care and unequal task participation by unmated females in a cooperatively breeding spiders. Animal Behaviour 132: 101-107.
Project description
Permanently social living animal societies are a central topic in evolutionary biology. Especially puzzling is the question of how permanent sociality could have evolved within spiders, which are generally known for their aggressive and sometimes cannibalistic lifestyle. Using physiological, histological and behavioural methods, we investigate which adaptations facilitated evolution of sociality in spiders.
Our model organisms are velvet spiders (Eresidae) of the genus Stegodyphus that contains temporary social spiders (subsocial) as well as permanently social species. Velvet spiders show extreme brood care behavior including regurgitation feeding and ending with matriphagy at which spiderlings consume their mothers. In this way mothers are able to invest almost all their resources in their offspring. The brood care period lasts several weeks and requires a high degree of tolerance and interattraction between mother and offspring as well as between the spiderlings. In social velvet spiders not only mothers but also non-reproductive females within a colony cooperate in brood care. It is therefore assumed that the extreme brood care represents a key aspect for the evolution of sociality in velvet spiders.
In our studies we investigate different aspects of brood care in velvet spiders to determine the adaptations that allowed social living and cooperative brood care.
Collaboration partner: