Slingshot spiders in Amazon rainforests

This June 2017 video says about itself:

Spider Shoots 25 Metre Web | The Hunt | BBC Earth

Which marvel of nature can build a 25m orb web with a silk that ranks as the world’s toughest natural fibre? The answer is the Darwin’s bark spider.

From the Georgia Institute of Technology in the USA:

Flies and mosquitoes beware, here comes the slingshot spider

August 17, 2020

Running into an unseen spiderweb in the woods can be scary enough, but what if you had to worry about a spiderweb — and the spider — being catapulted at you? That’s what happens to insects in the Amazon rain forests of Peru, where a tiny slingshot spider launches a web — and itself — to catch unsuspecting flies and mosquitoes.

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have produced what may be the first kinematic study of how this amazing arachnid stores enough energy to produce acceleration of 1,300 meters/second2 — 100 times the acceleration of a cheetah. That acceleration produces velocities of 4 meters per second and subjects the spider to forces of approximately 130 Gs, more than 10 times what fighter pilots can withstand without blacking out.

The Peruvian spider and its cousins stand out among arachnids for their ability to make external tools — in this case, their webs — and use them as springs to create ultrafast motion. Their ability to hold a ready-to-launch spring for hours while waiting for an approaching mosquito suggests yet another amazing tool: a latch mechanism to release the spring.

“Unlike frogs, crickets, or grasshoppers, the slingshot spider is not relying on its muscles to jump really quickly,” said Saad Bhamla, an assistant professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering who studies ultrafast organisms. “When it weaves a new web every night, the spider creates a complex, three-dimensional spring. If you compare this natural silk spring to carbon nanotubes or other human-made materials in terms of power density or energy density, it is orders of magnitude more powerful.”

The study, supported by the National Science Foundation and National Geographic Society Foundation, was published August 17 in the journal Current Biology. Understanding how web silk stores energy could potentially provide new sources of power for tiny robots and other devices, and lead to new applications for the robust material, the researchers say.

Slingshot spiders, known by the scientific genus name Theridiosomatid, build three-dimensional conical webs with a tension line attached to the center. The Peruvian member of that spider family, which is about 1 millimeter in length, pulls the tension line with its front legs to stretch the structure while holding on to the web with its rear legs. When it senses a meal within range, the spider launches the web and itself toward a fly or mosquito.

If the launch is successful, the spider quickly wraps its meal in silk. If the spider misses, it simply pulls the tension line to reset the web for the next opportunity.

“We think this approach probably gives the spider the advantage of speed and surprise, and perhaps even the effect of stunning the prey,” noted Symone Alexander, a postdoctoral researcher in Bhamla’s lab. “The spiders are tiny, and they are going after fast-flying insects that are larger than they are. To catch one, you must be much, much faster than they are.”

Slingshot spiders were described in a 1932 publication, and more recently by Jonathan Coddington, now a senior research entomologist at the Smithsonian Institution. Bhamla has an interest in fast-moving but small organisms, so he and Alexander arranged a trip to study the catapulting creature using ultrafast cameras to measure and record the movement.

“We wanted to understand these ultrafast movements because they can force our perspective to change from thinking about cheetahs and falcons as the only fast animals,” Bhamla said. “There are many very small invertebrates that can achieve fast movement through unusual structures. We really wanted to understand how these spiders achieve that amazing acceleration.”

The researchers traveled six hours by boat from Puerto Maldonado to the Tambopata Research Center. There is no electricity in the area, so nights are very dark. “We looked up and saw a tiny red dot,” Bhamla recalled. “We were so far away from the nearest light that the dot turned out to be the planet Mars. We could also see the Milky Way so clearly.”

The intense darkness raises the question of how the spider senses its prey and determines where to aim itself. Bhamla believes it must be using an acoustic sensing technique, a theory supported by the way the researchers tricked the spider into launching its web: They simply snapped their fingers.

Beyond sensing in the dark, the researchers also wondered how the spider triggers release of the web. “If an insect gets within range, the spider releases a small bundle of silk that it has created by crawling along the tension line,” Alexander said. “Releasing the bundle controls how far the web flies. Both the spider and web are moving backward.”

Another mystery is how the spider patiently holds the web while waiting for food to fly by. Alexander and Bhamla estimated that stretching the web requires at least 200 dynes, a tremendous amount of energy for a tiny spider to generate. Holding that for hours could waste a lot of energy.

“Generating 200 dynes would produce tremendous forces on the tiny legs of the spider,” Bhamla said. “If the reward is a mosquito at the end of three hours, is that worth it? We think the spider must be using some kind of trick to lock its muscles like a latch so it doesn’t need to consume energy while waiting for hours.”

Beyond curiosity, why travel to Peru to study the creature? “The slingshot spider offers an example of active hunting instead of the passive, wait for an insect to collide into the web strategy, revealing a further new functionality of spider silk,” Bhamla said. “Before this, we hadn’t thought about using silk as a really powerful spring.”

Another unintended benefit is changing attitudes toward spiders. Prior to the study, Alexander admits she had a fear of spiders. Being surrounded by slingshot spiders in the Peruvian jungle — and seeing the amazing things they do — changed that.

“In the rainforest at night, if you shine your flashlight, you quickly see that you are completely surrounded by spiders,” she said. “In my house, we don’t kill spiders anymore. If they happen to be scary and in in the wrong place, we safely move them to another location.”

Alexander and Bhamla had hoped to return to Peru this summer, but those plans were cut short by the coronavirus. They’re eager to continue learning from the spider.

“Nature does a lot of things better than humans can do, and nature has been doing them for much longer,” she said. “Being out in the field gives you a different perspective, not only about what nature is doing, but also why that is necessary.”

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through award 1817334 and CAREER 1941933, by the National Geographic Foundation through NGS-57996R-19, and by the Eckert Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the Georgia Tech School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding organizations.

Jaguarundi cats, video

This 19 May 2020 video says about itself:

This week in the latest of the wild cats of the Amazon, we’re talking about the jaguarundi. These cats may look like they’re in the weasel family, but they’re not!

Special thanks to the San Miguelito Jaguar Conservation Ranch and WWF-Peru for sharing this footage with us. …

And shout out to our writer and biologist Romi Castagnino, who hosted, produced and shot this video!

Spectacled bear on camera trap in Peru

This 10 March 2020 video says about itself:

What is a spectacled bear? Candid Animal Cam takes us to the Andes

Special thanks to WWF-Peru for sharing this footage with us, and to the San Miguelito Jaguar Conservation Ranch for additional footage.

And shout out to our writer and biologist Romi Castagnino, who hosted, produced and shot this video!

Ancient pre-Inca Pachacamac sculpture was coloured

This 2011 video is about the Pachacamac Idol.

From PLOS:

Pachacamac Idol of ancient Peru was symbolically painted

Chemical analysis of the statue reveals its age and original polychromatic design

January 15, 2020

The Pachacamac Idol of ancient Peru was a multicolored and emblematic sacred icon worshipped for almost 700 hundred years before Spanish conquest, according to a study published January 15, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Marcela Sepúlveda of the University of Tarapacá, Chile and colleagues.

The Pachacamac Idol is a symbolically carved wooden statue known from the Pachacamac archaeological complex, the principal coastal Inca sanctuary 31 km south of Lima, Peru during the 15th-16th centuries. The idol was reportedly damaged in 1533 during Spanish conquest of the region, and details of its originality and antiquity have been unclear. Also unexplored has been the question of whether the idol was symbolically colored, a common practice in Old World Antiquity.

In this study, Sepúlveda and colleagues obtained a wood sample from the Pachacamac Idol for chemical analysis. Through carbon-dating, they were able to determine that the wood was cut and likely carved approximately 760-876 AD, during the Middle Horizon, suggesting the statue was worshipped for almost 700 years before Spanish conquest. Their analysis also identified chemical traces of three pigments that would have conferred red, yellow, and white coloration to the idol.

This nondestructive analysis not only confirms that the idol was painted, but also that it was polychromatic, displaying at least three colors and perhaps others not detected in this study. The fact that the red pigment used was cinnabar, a material not found in the local region, demonstrates economic and symbolic implications for the coloration of the statue. The authors point out that coloration is a rarely discussed factor in the symbolic, economic, and experiential importance of religious symbols of the pre-Columbian periods, and that more studies on the subject could illuminate unknown details of cultural practices of the Andean past in South America.

The authors add: “Here, polychromy of the so-called Pachacamac Idol is demonstrated, including the presence of cinnabar.”

New praying mantis species discovered in Peru

This 17 October 2019 video from the USA says about itself:

Dr. Gavin Svenson, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s Director of Research & Collections and Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, discovered a new species of praying mantis on an insect survey expedition in the Amazon Rainforest. The mantis, named Vespamantoida wherleyi, is brightly colored and mimics wasps in an effort to ward off predators—a combination that has never been seen before. The discovery and analysis have had widespread implications for the Mantoididae family.

From the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in the USA:

Scientists discover new species of wasp-mimicking praying mantis

Peruvian mantis represents the first known example of a praying mantis species conspicuously mimicking a wasp

October 17, 2019

Cleveland Museum of Natural History Director of Research & Collections and Curator of Invertebrate Zoology Dr. Gavin Svenson and former Case Western Reserve University graduate student, Henrique Rodrigues, have discovered a new species of praying mantis, described as the first known mantis species to conspicuously mimic a wasp. In addition, the new species joins one previously described species within a newly erected genus Vespamantoida. The results of the team’s findings were published today in the online journal PeerJ.

The new species, named Vespamantoida wherleyi, was discovered near the Amazon River in Peru in 2013 during a general entomological survey of the field site. The male specimen was attracted to a light trap, and its bright coloration and wasp-like shape and behavior immediately caught the team’s eye.

“Typically, the majority of species differentiation is discovered and confirmed within a lab or collection setting,” explains Dr. Svenson. “To have that rare eureka moment where you know you have found something new in the field is incredibly exciting.”

The mantis exhibited a bright red-orange coloration, as well as the body structure, erratic locomotion patterns, and even antennae behavior typically associated with most wasp species. This apparent style of mimicry, known as Batesian mimicry, is a strategy in which a mostly harmless organism adopts the appearance, and occasionally the behaviors, of an organism known to pose a greater threat to would-be predators.

“In nature, when you are intentionally conspicuous, you are advertising something,” says Dr. Svenson. “When you are a species that can be easily taken as prey, you advertise because you want predators to think that you are poisonous, or could injure them, or any combination of unpleasant factors that tell the predator to think twice before pursuing you.”

In the mantis world, mimicry of vegetation is a fundamental strategy, but wasp mimicry in adults is unique, and limited to just one family, of which Vespamantoida is now a part. Until the discovery of V. wherleyi, however, mantis mimicry strategies were theorized to aid the mantis primarily in hiding from predators, and occasionally in luring prey. The conspicuous appearance and behavior of V. wherleyi represent a novel form of defensive mimicry whereby the mantis imitates a harmful organism’s natural defense signals to warn predators away. It is a strategy that is unique among known mantises.

“There are about 2,500 species of mantises described,” says Dr. Svenson. “I’d put a bet on there being about 5,000. So, I think we’re just halfway there. I think the most interesting thing about this family of mantises is the fact that most of the adults do mimic wasps, and that is quite unique for praying mantises. I think the next natural thing is to study the evolutionary biology of the lineage. If wasp mimicry is successful in this lineage, why has it not evolved in the other lineages as well? Why have no other species within the family evolved brightly colored wasp mimicry? We’re just not sure.”

How burrowing owls help desert plants

This 2014 video says about itself:

We are on the vast plains of Venezuela. Burrowing owls are fond of lizards, rats and frogs, but they’ll hunt just about anything as long as it’s not too big.

From Science News today:

Burrowing birds create pockets of rich plant life in a desert landscape

Mounds of sand dug out by nest-digging birds are microhabitats where seeds can germinate

In the rain-starved deserts of coastal Peru, tiny patches surprisingly rich in plant life dot the landscape. Burrowing birds may be responsible, scientists say.

Mounds of sand shoveled out by nest-digging burrowing owls and miner birds harbor more seedlings and exclusive plant varieties compared with surrounding undisturbed soils, researchers from the National University of San Marcos in Lima, Peru report in the October Journal of Arid Environments. Although the mounds hold fewer seeds, the structures may provide a sheltered and moist germination environment at the start of the growing season — unlike adjacent crusty soils carpeted with cyanobacteria, lichen, moss and algae.

“The ability of seeds to germinate in the desert is a daunting task,” says Jayne Belnap, a U.S. Geological Survey ecologist based in Moab, Utah, who wasn’t involved in the study, “especially if you have a crust.”

That crust inhibits seed growth in two ways. Seeds stranded on top are exposed to the harsh environment, and may not be able to sprout at all. And the crust itself can act as a barrier for water to reach buried seeds, and for seedlings to emerge.

But when burrowing birds break the crust and dig up sand, seeds can mix into the sand, and water may pool between the tossed sand and crust, the researchers say. That allows seeds to become buried and accumulate moisture needed to germinate.

While it’s known that burrowing mammals can break compacted soils and create nutrient-rich hot spots ideal for plant establishment, this study is the first to document similar ecosystem engineering done by dryland birds.

In 2016, Maria Cristina Rengifo-Faiffer, an ecologist now at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, collected soils in the National Reserve of Lachay in Peru. The area lies in a part of the Atacama Desert (SN: 2/27/18) where lomas, or mist oases, exist. It rarely rains there and most plants rely on three months of winter fog to complete their life cycle.

Samples came from 61 mounds dug up by three bird species — burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), coastal miner (Geositta peruviana) and greyish miner (G. maritima) — as well as from adjacent undisturbed areas. She watered the soil and allowed seeds to sprout in a greenhouse, using that as a proxy for how many viable seeds there were in the soils.

The bird mounds, on average, held 1,015 seeds per square meter, while the same-sized soil crust areas housed 2,740 seeds, Rengifo-Faiffer and ecologist Cesar Arana found.

But a catalog of natural germination out in the desert found that the bird-tossed soil was much more fertile than the crust: On average, 213 seedlings sprouted out of the bird mounds compared with 176 that emerged from adjacent crusty soils.

The team also found that five plant species appear exclusively in the bird-disturbed areas, including Amaranthaceae and Malvaceae species. These “microhabitats” created by burrowing birds are important to maintain plant diversity, Rengifo-Faiffer says.

“To me, that’s the coolest part of this study,” Belnap says. “You’re facilitating the presence of other species by having this burrowing happen.”

Contrary to the long-held belief that plants in the natural world are always in competition, new research has found that in harsh environments mature plants help smaller ones — and thrive as a result: here.

United States sport stars protest against racism

This 23 March 2019 video from the USA is called Gwendolyn Berry Hammer Throw Skills.

Translated from Dutch NOS radio:

US American sports people protest again during national anthem

American athletes have again protested against abuses in their country. What started three years ago with a kneeling protest by American Football player Colin Kaepernick against police violence in America, was followed by two athletes at the Pan-American Games in Lima [in Peru] last weekend.

On Friday, fencer Race Imboden knelt when the American national anthem was played after receiving a gold medal. The next day, Gwendolyn Berry, who won gold in the hammer throw, raised her fist when the national anthem was heard.

and a president who spreads hate are at the top of a long list.
I chose to sacrifie my moment today at the top of the podium to call attention to issues that I believe need to be addressed. I encourage others to please use your platforms for empowerment and change.

— Race Imboden (@Race_Imboden) August 10, 2019

Ex-athlete Carl Lewis backs equal pay in sports and attacks ‘racist’ Donald Trump. Olympic legend supports US women’s [soccer] team lawsuit. Calls US president ‘prejudiced, and misogynistic’: here.

This 11 August 2019 video says about itself:

Race Imboden takes a knee and joins tradition of US athlete protests

United States gold medal-winning fencer Race Imboden may face sanctions for taking a knee during the medal ceremony at the 2019 Pan-American Games. Imboden’s gesture preceded a similar protest on Saturday by American hammer thrower Gwen Berry, who raised her fist at the end of the national anthem after winning gold.

US athletes have a long history of staging such protests, dating back to the 1960s civil rights movement, but they have grown in recent years following NFL player Colin Kaepernick‘s decision to start taking a knee during the national anthem in 2016.

US Olympics body may sanction athletes for Trump protests. Athletes are facing possible sanctions for protesting Donald Trump at the Pan American Games. Gwen Berry and Race Imboden tried to draw attention to social issues in the US that they feel are spiraling out of control: here.

The NOS article continues:

The protests are remarkable, thinks sports journalist Maarten Kolsloot, given the success of the two American athletes. “Berry is a record holder and Imboden has already been world champion”, he says in the NOS Radio 1 News. “So they really send a signal.”

That signal is extra strong, Kolsloot thinks, because today it is exactly two years ago that a young woman was killed in a car attack in Charlottesville. In that American city, extreme right-wing demonstrators and counter-protesters stood opposite each other. A man deliberately drove into the counter-protesters; one was killed and dozens injured.

“Long list of problems”

On Twitter, Imboden, who is also a DJ and model, wrote that he protests for “a long list of problems, on which racism, gun control, mistreatment of immigrants are at the top”. He also called on others to follow his example.

“Imboden is next to footballer Megan Rapinoe one of the few white athletes participating in the protest,” says Kolsloot. “But precisely because fencing is a fairly white, elitist sport, Imboden indicated it was important to participate.”

The action of the two athletes is daring, since participants in the Pan-American Games must sign a document stating that political statements are out of the question. “Moreover, Trump reacted with disapproval when Kaepernick was the first to kneel during the national anthem three years ago,” says Kolsloot. “He thought demonstrating athletes should be fired and called them sons of bitches.”

It cost Kaepernick dear: because of the fuss he ended up without a club and was forced to leave the sport.

Trump has not yet responded to the action by Berry and Imboden. …

A spokesperson for the American Olympic committee reacted strongly to the action by the two athletes. “They are both big contenders for going to the Tokyo Games in 2020”, says Kolsloot, “but it is unclear whether the protest will have an impact on that.” Berry is said to have had a meeting with the Committee, but what came out of it is unknown.

Kolsloot considers it unlikely that the two will be suspended for a long time. “Both athletes are medal candidates, with even the chance of gold. Moreover, the protests will only get bigger. It is waiting for the next kneeling athlete.”

Protesting US athletes get suspended sentence: here.

South American bears need water

This 2016 video says about itself:

The Andean bear, also known as the spectacled bear, is sometimes called the Paddington bear, after the fictional bear in children’s books written by Michael Bond. The spectacled bear is the only bear species in South America, and its numbers are dwindling. In Peru, the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, a National Geographic Unique Lodge of the World, has set aside land as a rescue center for the bears.

From San Diego Zoo Global in the USA:

Bear necessities: New study highlights importance of water resources for Andean bears

January 15, 2019

A new study is shedding light on the importance of one critical resource for Andean bears living in the dry mountain forests of Peru: water. The study — a collaboration between the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and San Diego Zoo Global, with assistance from the Spectacled Bear Conservation Society-Peru — found that Andean bears focus much of their tree-rubbing behavior on shrubs and trees that are located on trails near water holes. Bears typically bite, claw and rub their body parts on trees, which is believed to be an important form of communication with other bears in the region. The discovery that this behavior occurs near water holes could have implications for future conservation programs.

“It may seem obvious that water holes would be an important resource for Andean bears living in tropical dry forests — however, these results suggest that water holes are significant not just as sources of drinking water, but also as important sites where bears communicate with one another,” said Russ Van Horn, Ph.D., San Diego Zoo Global scientist. “Because water holes are often the focus of activity by humans and their livestock, conservation planners will need to balance the interests of people and Andean bears in future programs.”

A paper detailing results of the study, recently published in the journal Ursus, reported that while Andean bears didn’t show a particular preference for tree-rubbing species, the locations of rubbed trees and shrubs were concentrated on trails near water holes. In the tropical dry forests of Peru, water is a relatively rare, albeit critical resource. Consequently, since livestock in the area also make use of water resources, conflicts may result between humans and bears.

This study is part of a larger effort by San Diego Zoo Global researchers and local partners to better understand Andean bear behavior and ecology. Andean bears are considered an umbrella species in the region, meaning that conservation programs aimed at protecting Andean bears will indirectly benefit other species in the Andes Mountains.

Andean bears are listed as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. They are native to the Andean countries of South America, and are sometimes known as spectacled bears because of white or light fur around their eyes. San Diego Zoo Global has been working with local partners to research and protect Andean bears in Peru. Andean bear habitat is being lost at a rate of about 2 to 4 percent per year as it is destroyed for mining operations, farming and timber harvest. The construction of new roads also fragments bear habitat. In addition, climate change is altering the bear’s habitat in unpredictable ways. Andean bears now primarily live in dense mountain forests, making the species difficult to study. The dry tropical forest where this study occurred is more open than other kinds of Peruvian forests, making field research easier.

Young giant otters’ swimming lesson

This video from Peru says about itself:

Otter Cubs Get a Swimming Lesson | BBC Earth

These six baby giant otters have one of their swimming lessons, an otter‘s number one skill for survival.

Giant otters and piranhas in Peru

This 22 July 2018 BBC video says about itself:

Giant otters love fishing and eating piranha – but how do they catch them without being bitten?

Giant otters are one of the toughest creatures in the Amazon jungle. Not only are they living in a lake in the middle of the Peruvian Amazon, but they are also surrounded by three hundred black caiman, anaconda, jaguar and puma. Diablo the giant otter also has six unruly pups to keep from harm, and educate in the ways of the jungle. This otter dad certainly has his paws full. Leading wildlife cameraman Charlie Hamilton-James follows the family in their remarkable location over the course of a whole season, through their ups, downs, and the start of a new generation of otters.