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Functional Surfaces in Biology pp 77–95Cite as

Water Repellent Properties of Spiders: Topographical Variations and Functional Correlates

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Abstract

Biological surfaces, depending upon their physical structure and chemical composition, can fall anywhere on a spectrum of wettability that runs from strongly water repellent to forming strong adhesive bonds with water. When the surfaces in question are those at the interface between the organism and its environment, these wettability characteristics have profound consequences for function. For example, in semi-aquatic plants, water repellent surfaces near the stomata are important for preserving the ability to exchange gasses with air (Schönherr and Ziegler 1975), and the wettable ventral surfaces of gyrinid beetles provide the intimate contact with water that is necessary for their style of aquatic locomotion (Fish and Nicastro 2003; Fish 1999).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, Mississippi MS, USA

    Gail E. Stratton

  2. Department of Biology, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA

    Robert B. Suter

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  1. Gail E. Stratton
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  2. Robert B. Suter
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Correspondence to Gail E. Stratton .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Zoological Institute University of Kiel, Am Botanischen Garten 1–9, D-24098, Kiel, Germany

    Stanislav N. Gorb

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Stratton, G.E., Suter, R.B. (2009). Water Repellent Properties of Spiders: Topographical Variations and Functional Correlates. In: Gorb, S.N. (eds) Functional Surfaces in Biology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6697-9_6

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