Samantha Straus

Samantha Straus

Jul 18, 2017

Group 6 Copy 237
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An update on progress in the field...

Hi Everyone!

I know it's been a long time since I posted on here, but there wasn't much to write about until now. My assistant and I are now halfway through our field season down here in Ecuador. There have been some ups and downs, but we have found a good rhythm and are collecting what I hope is good data. It's been exciting to work in new places, and with new species. I think I have a new favorite Anelosimus species -- Anelosimus elegans. It's more beautiful than the other species I've worked with.

We have collected about half our data, and now starting back at our first of our three field sites starting tomorrow. Wish us luck!

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About This Project

Sociality in spiders is extremely rare, but it has evolved several times. This begs the question: why be social? I aim to answer this by using social spiders found in Ecuador. I will determine the benefits and costs of sociality by measuring prey capture rates and parasite loads for four different species with varying levels of sociality. As social beings ourselves, we can understand social behaviour and cooperation by studying these unique spiders.

Blast off!

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