Prey Capture Behaviour in the Social Spider Anelosimus eximius (Araneae: Theridiidae): Responses to Prey Size and Type

Ethology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 113 (9) ◽  
pp. 856-861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andréa L.T. Souza ◽  
Marcelo O. Gonzaga ◽  
João Vasconcellos-Neto
Keyword(s):  
Prey Capture ◽  
Prey Size ◽  
Social Spider ◽  
The Social

Nest of the Social Spider Phryganoporus-Candidus (Araneae, Desidae) - Structure, Annual Growth-Cycle and Host-Plant Relationships

1994 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 237 ◽  
Author(s):  
MF Downes
Keyword(s):  
Host Plant ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Growth Cycle ◽  
Nest Size ◽  
Social Spider ◽  
Evolution Of Sociality ◽  
The Social ◽  
Form Compound ◽  
Nest Height ◽  
And Function

Aspects of the biology of the social spider Phryganoponrs candidus (=Badumna candida) (L. Koch) in relation to its life history are described, based on data from a field and laboratory study conducted over several years at Townsville, Queensland. Host plant records and preferences are given, and an analysis made of the effects of nest height and ecotone proximity on nest occurrence. Founded between October and February as a chambered silk funnel by a solitary subadult female, the nest was enlarged by the female and her progeny into a complex retreat area and an outlying prey-trapping area. The architecture of the retreat was not an aggregation of repeated subunits. Closely adjacent nests sometimes united their prey-capture webbing to form compound nests. From a tagged sample of new-founded nests, 31% reached a stage at which thriving spiderlings were present. Numbers of spiders in nests ranged from 9 to 224 and correlated with nest size, which ranged from 70 to more than 20 000 cm(2). At the peak of nest growth in October, the stage at which subadult spiders began to disperse, about 90 spiders inhabited each nest; only 12% of new-founded nests reached this stage. Summer dispersal left nests empty; they degenerated under rain and became moribund by March. The main host plants were Zizyphus mauritiana (the chinee apple) and Dolichondrone heterophylla. Most nests occurred between 0.5 and 2.5 m from the ground but height did not influence nest success. Nests were prevalent at ecotones, although they did not thrive better there. Because so much of the social biology of spiders is integrated with the structure and function of their nests, these findings are relevant to an understanding of the evolution of sociality in spiders.

scholarly journals The legacy effects of keystone individuals on collective behaviour scale to how long they remain within a group

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1814) ◽  
pp. 20151766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan N. Pruitt ◽  
Noa Pinter-Wollman
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Collective Behaviour ◽  
Legacy Effects ◽  
Social Spider ◽  
The Social ◽  
Collective Foraging ◽  
The Individual

The collective behaviour of social groups is often strongly influenced by one or few individuals, termed here ‘keystone individuals’. We examined whether the influence of keystone individuals on collective behaviour lingers after their departure and whether these lingering effects scale with their tenure in the group. In the social spider, Stegodyphus dumicola , colonies' boldest individuals wield a disproportionately large influence over colony behaviour. We experimentally manipulated keystones' tenure in laboratory-housed colonies and tracked their legacy effects on collective prey capture following their removal. We found that bolder keystones caused more aggressive collective foraging behaviour and catalysed greater inter-individual variation in boldness within their colonies. The longer keystones remained in a colony, the longer both of these effects lingered after their departure. Our data demonstrate that, long after their disappearance, keystones have large and lasting effects on social dynamics at both the individual and colony levels.

scholarly journals Behavioral responses vary with prey species in the social spider, Stegodyphus sarasinorum

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 938-947
Author(s):  
Bharat Parthasarathy ◽  
Hema Somanathan
Keyword(s):  
Prey Species ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Personality Types ◽  
Task Specialization ◽  
Social Spider ◽  
Interindividual Differences ◽  
Capture Event ◽  
The Social ◽  
Stegodyphus Sarasinorum

Abstract Predators living in social groups often show consistent interindividual differences in prey capture behavior that may be linked to personality. Though personality predisposes individuals for certain behaviors, responses can also be influenced by context. Studies examining personality-dependent participation in prey capture have largely employed only one prey species, offering the predator no choice. In nature, predators encounter a range of prey species, therefore participation in or leading a prey capture event must also depend on prey attributes (e.g., size and risk). In the social spider Stegodyphus sarasinorum, collective prey capture is mediated by personality types as a consequence of which some individuals are consistently more likely to attack. Here, we examined if an individual’s consistency to attack persisted within and between the 2 prey species (honeybees and grasshoppers) and if the same individuals attacked first with both prey species. Our results showed that interindividual differences in attacking persisted within and between the 2 prey species. Spiders showed greater participation in attacking grasshoppers relative to bees. Identities of the first attackers were not the same for bees and grasshoppers. Spiders showed greater consistency over time in attacking bees relative to grasshoppers. Bees attracted fewer attackers than size-matched grasshoppers. These results suggest that greater task specialization may be necessary to successfully subdue bees. Spiders handled bees more cautiously, which is likely to explain the observed plasticity in attacking the 2 prey species. Thus, participation in prey capture in social spiders is influenced by the attributes of prey species.

Prey Capture and Feeding in the Social Spider Anelosimus eximius

1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 334-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
FRITZ VOLLRATH ◽  
DOROTHEE ROHDE-ARNDT
Keyword(s):  
Prey Capture ◽  
Social Spider ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals Individual personalities shape task differentiation in a social spider

2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1767) ◽  
pp. 20131407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Grinsted ◽  
Jonathan N. Pruitt ◽  
Virginia Settepani ◽  
Trine Bilde
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Developmental Stage ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Dispersal Distance ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Social Spider ◽  
Field Independent ◽  
The Social ◽  
Group Variation ◽  
Colony Efficiency

Deciphering the mechanisms involved in shaping social structure is key to a deeper understanding of the evolutionary processes leading to sociality. Individual specialization within groups can increase colony efficiency and consequently productivity. Here, we test the hypothesis that within-group variation in individual personalities (i.e. boldness and aggression) can shape task differentiation. The social spider Stegodyphus sarasinorum (Eresidae) showed task differentiation (significant unequal participation) in simulated prey capture events across 10-day behavioural assays in the field, independent of developmental stage (level of maturation), eliminating age polyethism. Participation in prey capture was positively associated with level of boldness but not with aggression. Body size positively correlated with being the first spider to emerge from the colony as a response to prey capture but not with being the first to attack, and dispersal distance from experimental colonies correlated with attacking but not with emerging. This suggests that different behavioural responses to prey capture result from a complex set of individual characteristics. Boldness and aggression correlated positively, but neither was associated with body size, developmental stage or dispersal distance. Hence, we show that personalities shape task differentiation in a social spider independent of age and maturation. Our results suggest that personality measures obtained in solitary, standardized laboratory settings can be reliable predictors of behaviour in a social context in the field. Given the wealth of organisms that show consistent individual behavioural differences, animal personality could play a role in social organization in a diversity of animals.

scholarly journals Physical and social cues shape nest-site preference and prey capture behavior in social spiders

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 627-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriella M Najm ◽  
Angelika Pe ◽  
Jonathan N Pruitt ◽  
Noa Pinter-Wollman
Keyword(s):  
Nest Site ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
Site Preference ◽  
Social Spider ◽  
Site Preferences ◽  
Conflicting Demands ◽  
The Social ◽  
Web Building ◽  
Prey Capture Behavior

Abstract Animals often face conflicting demands when making movement decisions. To examine the decision process of social animals, we evaluated nest-site preferences of the social spider Stegodyphus dumicola. Colonies engage in collective web building, constructing 3D nests and 2D capture webs on trees and fences. We examined how individuals and groups decide where to construct a nest based on habitat structure and conspecific presence. Individuals had a strong preference for 3D substrates and conspecific presence. Groups were then provided with conflicting options of 3D substrates versus 2D substrates with a conspecific. Groups preferred the 3D structures without presettled conspecifics over a 2D substrate with conspecifics. When a group fragmented and individuals settled on both substrates, the minority group eventually joined the majority. Before rejoining, the collective prey capture behavior of divided groups improved with the size of the majority fragment. The costs of slow responses to prey for split groups and weak conspecific attraction may explain why dispersal is rare in these spiders.

Conflict and Cooperation in the Group Feeding of the Social Spider Stegodyphus Mimosarum

Behaviour ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 94 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 167-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margit M. Enders ◽  
Paul I. Ward
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Prey Size ◽  
The Body ◽  
Large Prey ◽  
Social Spider ◽  
Small Prey ◽  
Conflict And Cooperation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Group Feeding

Abstract1. Stegodyphus mimosarum, a social spider, lives in colonies which may contain hundreds of individuals. Feeding behaviour was examined with respect to feeding group size and prey size. 2. Prey were less likely to escape and were subdued more quickly when attacked by more than one spider. 3. During capture small prey were frequently bitten directly on the body whereas large prey were almost always bitten on an appendage. 4. Pulling struggles for subdued prey occurred. They lasted longest over medium sized prey. Small prey were easier to transport to the nest than medium prey and large prey were pulled by more spiders from a single retreat. 5. Spiders which had participated in a capture initially bit preferentially on the prey's head or thorax but others which joined later to feed bit at random. 6. Feeding became less efficient as group size increased and an experiment suggests that individuals injected less poison and digestive enzymes when feeding in groups.

The Life-History of Badumna-Candida (Araneae, Amaurobioidea)

1993 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 441 ◽  
Author(s):  
MF Downes
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Production Cycle ◽  
Social Spider ◽  
Social Spiders ◽  
Primary Sex Ratio ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
Changes Over Time

A two-year study of the social spider Badumna candida at Townsville, Queensland, provided information on colony size and changes over time, maturation synchrony, temperature effects on development, sex ratio, dispersal, colony foundation, fecundity and oviposition. Key findings were that B. candida outbred, had an iteroparous egg-production cycle between March and October, had an even primary sex ratio and achieved maturation synchrony by retarding the development of males, which matured faster than females at constant temperature. There was no overlap of generations, the cohort of young from a nest founded by a solitary female in summer dispersing the following summer as subadults (females) or subadults and adults (males). These findings confirm the status of B. candida as a periodic-social spider (an annual outbreeder), in contrast to the few known permanent-social spider species whose generations overlap. Cannibalism, normally rare in social spiders, rose to 48% when spiders were reared at a high temperature. This may be evidence that volatile recognition pheromones suppress predatory instincts in social spiders.

An experimental analysis of prey availability for sanderlings (Aves: Scolopacidae) feeding on sandy beach crustaceans

1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (9) ◽  
pp. 1564-1574 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Myers ◽  
S. L. Williams ◽  
F. A. Pitelka
Keyword(s):  
Prey Density ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Prey Size ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Capture Rate ◽  
Search Time ◽  
Beach Sand ◽  
Sand Surface ◽  
Prey Capture Rate ◽  
Bodega Bay

We investigated the role of prey size, prey depth, prey microdistribution, and substrate penetrability in affecting prey availability to sanderlings (Calidris alba Pallas). Five experiments were performed in the laboratory manipulating these availability factors and prey density in beach sand. The effects on prey risk and sanderling prey capture rate were measured.Prey risk increased linearly with prey size. Prey within 10 mm of the surface were vulnerable to predation but their risk decreased sharply below that depth. Substrate penetrability affected prey risk by controlling how deeply a sanderling could probe beneath the sand surface while searching for prey.Prey capture rates varied between 0.01 and 0.84 captures per second of search time over a range of prey density between 60 and 1200 prey per square metre. Prey size and substrate penetrability affected capture rate through their effect on prey risk, and substrate penetrability also influenced capture rate directly. Prey density had the strongest effect on prey capture rate. Measurements in the field around Bodega Bay, California, indicate that prey density, prey size, prey depth, and substrate penetrability can have significant impact on sanderling foraging under field conditions.

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