RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

Location = Lexington, MA

ScienceDaily (Nov. 1, 2009) — Nepotism has its benefits when it comes to survival, at least for spiders. While nepotism may have negative connotations in politics and the workplace, being surrounded by your relatives does lead to better group dynamics and more cooperation in some animals. That certainly seems to be the case for spiders, according to a new study published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology. In an extensive study, the researchers found that spiders are far more efficient at foraging for food and cooperate better when they're related to each other. Like with humans and other animals, relatedness may favor the evolution of less selfish behavior, more collaboration and better group dynamics. Spiders working with their kin were more motivated to share digestive enzymes with the other spiders, allowing them to consume their prey more quickly. The spiders that were related also worked more communally when foraging for food, which benefited the entire group.