Overview
- A peer-reviewed study in Subterranean Biology measured about 106 square meters of interconnected funnel webs along a dark cave wall in Sulfur Cave.
- The colony comprises roughly 69,000 Tegenaria domestica and more than 42,000 Prinerigone vagans, marking the first documented colonial web-building for either species.
- Stable-isotope and gut-content analyses traced the food chain from sulfur-oxidizing bacteria to non-biting midges to spiders, confirming a system independent of sunlight.
- Genetic testing and microbiome profiling show the cave spiders differ from nearby surface populations, indicating local adaptation to the sulfurous, lightless environment.
- Researchers note ongoing follow-up work and say protection should be considered for the transboundary site, which could complicate conservation management.