scholarly journals The Influence of Vibratory Courtship on Female Mating Behaviour in Orb-Web Spiders (Argiope keyserlingi, Karsch 1878)

PLoS ONE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e53057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne E. Wignall ◽  
Marie E. Herberstein
Keyword(s):  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Female Mating ◽  
Argiope Keyserlingi ◽  
Orb Web ◽  
Orb Web Spiders

Foraging behaviour in orb-web spiders (Araneidae): do web decorations increase prey capture success in Argiope keyserlingi Karsch, 1878?

2000 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 217 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Herberstein
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Paired Comparison ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Argiope Keyserlingi ◽  
Orb Web ◽  
Orb Web Spiders ◽  
The Web ◽  
Web Size ◽  
Prey Attraction

Orb web spiders in the genus Argiope attach highly visible silk bands called decorations or stabilimenta to their webs. Two different hypotheses regarding the function of these structures were investigated in the field using Argiope keyserlingi: prey attraction and anti-predatory device. The first hypothesis suggests that web decorations attract prey to the web, and webs carrying decorations will capture more prey than those without. A field census of prey capture showed that webs adorned with more decorative bands indeed captured more but similarly sized prey per hour compared with webs carrying fewer decorations. Web height or web size, however, were not related to the rate of prey capture. This pattern was confirmed by a paired comparison of prey-capture rates within individuals that increased or decreased the number of decorative bands on consecutive days. Individuals that used more decorations also captured more prey compared with days when they spun fewer decorations. The second hypothesis suggests that these structures function as anti-predatory devices and, consequently, spiders on decorated webs benefit from a lower rate of mortality than spiders on undecorated webs. A census of the mortality rates of spiders over 19 days revealed that spiders did not disappear from undecorated webs more frequently than from decorated webs. Consequently, the idea that web decorations act as anti-predatory devices in A. keyserlingi was not supported.

Short and fast vs long and slow: age changes courtship in male orb-web spiders (Argiope keyserlingi)

2017 ◽  
Vol 105 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. O’Hanlon ◽  
Anne E. Wignall ◽  
Marie E. Herberstein
Keyword(s):  
Age Changes ◽  
Argiope Keyserlingi ◽  
Orb Web ◽  
Orb Web Spiders

scholarly journals The effect of predator-prey distance and prey profitability on the attack behaviour of the orb-web spider Argiope keyserlingi (Araneidae)

2001 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 213 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. E. Champion de Crespigny ◽  
M. E. Herberstein ◽  
M. A. Elgar
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Physiological Condition ◽  
Web Design ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Web Spider ◽  
Argiope Keyserlingi ◽  
Orb Web ◽  
Orb Web Spiders ◽  
The Web

The foraging behaviour of central-place foragers is thought to be strongly influenced by the distance between the forager and the food source (predator–prey distance). Orb-web spiders are uniquely suited for investigating this idea because they make active foraging decisions towards prey entangled in the web, and they define the dimensions of their foraging arena when they construct the web. Here we manipulate the physiological condition of Argiope keyserlingi and present the spiders with prey of varying quality, in terms of size and accessibility (location within the web and distance from the spider). We found that these spiders adjust their foraging behaviour primarily in response to their physiological condition but, in contrast to other central-place foragers, are indiscriminant of predator–prey distance or the likelihood of escape of the prey. We suggest that these factors are incorporated into the design of the web, and thus increase foraging success through efficient web design.

scholarly journals Males of the orb-web spider Argiope bruennichi sacrifice themselves to unrelated females

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 585-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaas W. Welke ◽  
Jutta M. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Paternal Care ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Selective Pressure ◽  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Copulation Duration ◽  
Female Fecundity ◽  
Web Spider ◽  
Orb Web ◽  
Cannibalism Rate ◽  
Orb Web Spiders

Costs of inbreeding can lead to total reproductive failure and inbreeding avoidance is, therefore, common. In classical sex roles with no paternal care, the selective pressure to avoid inbreeding is mostly on the female, which carries the higher costs. In some orb-web spiders, this situation is very different because females are polyandrous and males are monogynous or at most bigynous. Additionally, females of many entelegyne orb weavers are thought to bias paternity post-copulatorily towards a desired mate. This increases the selective pressure on males to adjust their investment in a mating with regard to the compatibility to a female. Here, we examine whether genetic relatedness influences mating behaviour in the orb-web spider Argiope bruennichi . We mated either a sibling or a non-sibling male to a female in single copulation trials and compared copulation duration, cannibalism rate and female fecundity. Our experiment revealed that males prolonged their copulation duration and were cannibalized more frequently when mating with a non-sibling female. Males mating with a sibling female were more likely to escape cannibalism by copulating briefly, thus presumably increasing their chances of re-mating with a more compatible female. This suggests that males can adaptively adjust their investment relating to the compatibility of a female.

Does decoration building influence antipredator responses in an orb-web spider (Argiope keyserlingi) in its natural habitat?

2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean J. Blamires ◽  
Dieter F. Hochuli ◽  
Michael B. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Antipredator Behaviour ◽  
Web Spider ◽  
Antipredator Responses ◽  
Argiope Keyserlingi ◽  
Orb Web ◽  
Orb Web Spiders ◽  
The Web

Antipredator strategies adopted by animals need to compensate for temporal changes. Many orb-web spiders add silk decorations to their webs, which principally attract prey but may attract some predators. To identify their influence on antipredator behaviour in adult female St Andrew’s cross spiders (Argiope keyserlingi) we measured: spider body condition, web characteristics (area, spiral length and decoration building), environmental variables (air temperature, humidity, wind speed, relative prey abundance) and antipredator responses (remaining at the hub, dropping, shifting to the web periphery, or pumping the web) at three distinct periods (July–August, September–October and January–February) in the field. We developed path models from multiple regression analyses to distinguish between factors having direct and indirect effects. We found that even though both antipredator responses and decoration building change over time, antipredator responses and decoration investment are independent. Body condition and wind speed are directly positively associated with pumping frequency, and decoration building is negatively associated with the frequency of remaining at the hub because the likelihood that an object approaching the web is a predator increases if decorations are added. Wind speed is positively associated with antipredator behaviour and decoration building, due to an increased rate of feeding affecting body condition.

Web characteristics determine niche partitioning for orb-web spiders (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) in Malaysia

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 262-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dzulhelmi Muhammad Nasir ◽  
Thary Gazi Goh ◽  
Asraf Bakri ◽  
Faszly Rahim ◽  
Zulqarnain Mohamed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Orb Web ◽  
Orb Web Spiders

scholarly journals Guiding lights: Foraging responses of juvenile nocturnal orb‐web spiders to the presence of artificial light at night

Ethology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 125 (5) ◽  
pp. 289-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolas J. Willmott ◽  
Jessica Henneken ◽  
Mark A. Elgar ◽  
Therésa M. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Light ◽  
Light At Night ◽  
Orb Web ◽  
Orb Web Spiders

The silk tuft web decorations of the orb-weaver Gasteracantha cancriformis : testing the prey attraction and the web advertisement hypotheses

Behaviour ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 145 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Gawryszewski ◽  
Paulo Motta
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Foraging Success ◽  
Uv Reflectance ◽  
Web Advertisement ◽  
Orb Web ◽  
Orb Web Spiders ◽  
Large Animals ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Web ◽  
Prey Attraction

AbstractSeveral orb-web spiders build conspicuous decorations in their webs. The prey attraction hypothesis proposes that decorations increase spider foraging success by attracting prey, and that attraction is linked to UV reflectance. Alternatively, the web advertisement hypothesis proposes that decorations are a signal that advertises the presence of the web to large animals. We tested both hypotheses for the web silk tufts of Gasteracantha cancriformis. Even though tufts are UV reflective, we did not find support for the prey attraction hypothesis. In the field, when webs with tufts painted black and control webs were compared, there were no differences in the number of prey captured, number of damaged areas in webs and type of prey captured. In the laboratory, Drosophila melanogaster did not demonstrate preference for tufted silk lines versus non-tufted silk lines. Our data also did not give support for the web advertisement hypothesis. The proportion of web destruction was similar between web with tufts painted black and control webs during four days of experimentation. Therefore, two of the most favoured hypotheses that attempt to explain decorations do not apply for web silk tufts in our study system. Instead we propose that silk tufts might be an aposematic signal.

scholarly journals Correction to: Testing traditional hypotheses about prey capture efficiency in orb-web spiders

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda Carolina da Silva ◽  
Mateus Moleta ◽  
Camila Alves Dos Anjos ◽  
Gabriel Marra Schade ◽  
Gabriel Staichak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prey Capture ◽  
Capture Efficiency ◽  
Orb Web ◽  
Orb Web Spiders
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