What makes a spider fly?

Resum: dispersal plays a key role in shaping important biological and ecological processes such as the spatial structure of populations and the pace and scale of invasion. We have studied dispersal mechanisms in spiders found in heterogeneous environments where the ability for re-colonisation is likely to be an important factor in determining population persistence. We find that populations from these areas are infected with a range of maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria, one of which appears to reduce the likelihood of female dispersal.
The potential of such maternally acquired bacteria to limit gene flow and to skew local sex ratios directly through influencing dispersal (rather than indirectly through mechanisms such as effecting cytoplasmic incompatibility, or through killing of males) appears to be unique to spiders. The possibility that this phenomenon occurs in other arthropod communities in response to similar infections should be explored.

Ponent: Sara Goodacre, University of Nottingham.

Idioma vehicular: anglès.

Lloc: sala d’actes del Castell dels Tres Dragons (Laboratori de Natura, pg. Picasso, s/n)

Dins el programa de Seminaris de Biodiversitat, SEMBIO. Debat i intercanvi d’experiències essencialment sobre sistemàtica, zoologia, evolució animal i filogènia molecular. Aquestes xerrades estan organitzades pel Grup de Recerca Consolidat ZooSysEvo format per científics de la Facultat de Biologia i del Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona. L’objectiu és difondre els continguts de la recerca d’investigadors del grup o d’algun investigador convidat.