Blinding Hunger

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Scientists discovered that jumping spiders of one particular species lose their eyesight if they don’t eat enough, Live Science reported.

The bold jumping spider, scientifically known as Phidippus audax, has high-resolution color vision which they see with their main, forward-facing eyes.

A research team was studying the eyes of wild-caught arachnids when they noticed small black spots on their photoreceptors – cells that convert light into signals that are sent from the eyes to the brain.

They explained that these spots showed that the photoreceptor cells were dying and that the tiny creatures’ eyesight was degenerating, according to a new study.

To determine whether poor nutrition was the culprit, researchers split P. audax into two groups: One group ate a normal diet of crickets and bee pollen, while the other only received half portions.

The results showed that the starving jumping spiders started going blind and their photoreceptors began disappearing. The team suggested that this degeneration happens because photoreceptors need a lot of energy in the form of nutrients to properly work, otherwise “the system fails.”

The study could help future research with a better understanding of the role nutrition plays in eyesight, especially for humans.

While spiders and humans are broadly not alike, the authors noted that the photoreceptor mechanism in both species is very similar.

“In both cases, it has something to do with energy metabolism and those photoreceptor cells, which are extremely energetically costly,” said co-author Elke Buschbeck. “It’s not easy for an organism to keep up with their energy needs (when nutritionally deprived).”