Hunting tactics in a cobweb spider (Araneae-Theridiidae) and the evolution of behavioral plasticity

Journal of Insect Behavior

Volumn 21, Issue 4, 2008, Pages 258-284

  Japyassú, Hilton F ^a   Caires, Rodrigo A ^b  

^a INSTITUTO BUTANTAN   (Brazil)

^b UNIVERSITY OF SÃO PAULO   (Brazil)

Author keywords

Behavioral evolution; Behavioral plasticity; Behavioral repertoire; Orbweavers; Predatory behavior; Sheetweavers; Spiders

Indexed keywords

ACHAEARANEA; ARANEAE; ARANEIDAE; ARANEOIDEA; THERIDIIDAE;

EID: 44649165680     PISSN: 08927553     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10905-008-9124-5     Document Type: Article

References (118)

1. Ades C (1972) A teia e a caça de Argiope argentata. Ph.D. thesis. Instituto de Psicologia. Universidade de São Paulo (São Paulo)
2. Agnarsson I (2004) Morphological phylogeny of cobweb spiders and their relatives (Araneae, Araneoidea, Theridiidae). Zool J Linn Soc 141:447-626
3. Akerman MAC (1926) On the spider, Menneus camelus Pocock, which constructs a moth-catching, expanding snare. Ann Natal Mus 5(3):411-422
4. Arnedo MA, Coddington J, Agnarsson I, Gillespie RG (2004) From a comb to a tree: phylogenetic relationships of the comb-footed spiders (Araneae, Theridiidae) inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial genes. Mol Phylogenet Evol 31:225-245
5. Atz JW (1970) The application of the idea of homology to behavior. In: Aronson L, Tobach E, Lehrman D, Rosenblatt EH (eds) Development and evolution of behavior: essays in the memory of T.C. Schneirla. Freeman, San Franscisco, pp 53-74
6. Benforado J, Kistler KH (1973) Growth of the orb weaver, Araneus diadematus, and correlation with web measurements. Psyche 80:90-100
7. Benjamin SP, Zschokke S (2002) Untangling the tangle-web: web construction behavior of the comb-footed spider Steatoda triangulosa and comments on phylogenetic implications (Araneae: Theridiidae). J Insect Behav 15(6):791-809
8. Benjamin SP, Zschokke S (2003) Webs of theridiid spiders: construction, structure and evolution. Biol J Linn Soc 78:293-305
9. Benjamin SP, Zschokke S (2004) Homology, behaviour and spider webs: web construction behaviour of Linyphia hortensis and L. triangularis (Araneae: Linyphiidae) and its evolutionary significance. J Evol Biol 17:120-130
10. Binford GJ, Rypstra AL (1992) Foraging behavior of the communal spider Philoponella republicana (Araneae: Uloboridae). J Insect Behav 5(3):321-335
11. Blackledge TA, Coddington JA, Gillespie RG (2003) Are three-dimensional spider webs defensive adaptations? Ecol Lett 6:13-18
12. Breene RG, Sterling WL, Dean DA (1989) Spider and ant predators of the cotton fleahopper on woolly croton. Southwest Entomol 13:177-183
13. Breene RG, Meagher RL Jr, Dean DA (1993) Spiders (Araneae) and ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Texas sugarcane fields. Fla Entomol 76:645-650
14. Brenowitz EA (2004) Plasticity of the adult avian song control system. Ann NY Acad Sci 1016(1):560-585
15. Buckup EH, Marques MAL, Ott R (2006) Três espécies novas de Achaearanea (Araneae, Theridiidae) do Brasil ocorrentes em serapilheira. Iheringia, Sér Zool 96(1):61-64
16. Carico JE (1978) Predatory behavior in Euryopis funebris (Hentz) (Araneae: Theridiidae) and the evolutionary significance of web reduction. Symp Zool Soc Lond 42:51-58
17. Christofides N (1975) Graph theory: an algorithmic approach. Academic, New York
18. Clark DL (1994) Sequence analysis of courtship behaviour in the dimorphic jumping spider Maevia inclemens (Araneae: Salticidae). J Arachnol 22:94-107
19. Coddington JA (1986) The monophyletic origin of the orb web. In: Shear WA (ed) Spiders, webs, behavior, and evolution. Stanford University Press, Stanford, pp 319-363
20. Coddington JA (1989) Spinneret silk spigot morphology: evidence for the monophyly of orbweaving spiders, Cyrtophorinae (Araneidae), and the group Theridiidae plus Nesticidae. J Arachnol 17:71-95
21. Coddington JA (1990) Ontogeny and homology in the male palpus of orb-weaving spiders and their relatives, with comments on phylogeny. Smithson Contrib Zool 496:1-52
22. Coddington JA, Sobrevila C (1987) Web manipulation and two stereotyped attack behaviors in the ogre-faced spider Deinopis spinosus Marx (Araneae, Deinopidae). J Arachnol 15:213-225
23. Corrêa JP (2001) Forrageamento em Latrodectus geometricus (Araneae: Theridiidae): plasticidade e aspectos comparativos. Dissertation. University of Santo Amaro (São Paulo)
24. de Pinna MCC (1991) Concepts and tests of homology in the cladistic paradigm. Cladistics 7:367-394
25. de Pinna MCC (1997) Behavioural characters in phylogeny reconstruction. An Etol 15:109-124
26. De Queiroz A, Wimberger PH (1993) The usefulness of behavior for phylogeny estimation: levels of homoplasy in behavioral and morphological characters. Evolution 47:46-60
27. Eberhard WG (1967) Attack behavior of diguetid spiders and the origin of prey wrapping in spiders. Psyche 74(2):173-181
28. Eberhard WG (1979) Argyrodes attenuatus (Theridiidae): a web that is not a snare. Psyche 86:407-413
29. Eberhard WG (1980) The natural history and behavior of the bolas spider Mastophora dizzydeani sp N. (Araneidae). Psyche 87:143-169
30. Eberhard WG (1982) Behavioral characters for the higher classification of orb-weaving spiders. Evolution 36:1067-1095
31. Eberhard WG (1988) Behavioral flexibility in orb web construction: effects of supplies in different silk glands and spider size and weight. J Arachnol 16:295-302
32. Eberhard WG (1990) Imprecision in the behavior of Leptomorphus sp. (Diptera, Myetophilidae) and the evolutionary origin of new behavior patterns. J Insect Behav 3(3):327-357
33. Eberhard WG (2000) Breaking the mold: behavioral variation and evolutionary innovation in Wendilgarda spiders (Araneae, Theridiosomatidae). Ethol Ecol Evol 12:223-235
34. Eberhard WG (2001) Trolling for water striders: active searching for prey and the evolution of reduced webs in the spider Wendilgarda sp. (Araneae, Theridiosomatidae). J Nat Hist 35:229-251
35. Eberhard WG, Platnick NI, Schuh RT (1993) Natural history and systematics of arthropod symbionts (Araneae; Hemiptera; Diptera) inhabiting webs of the spider Tengella radiata (Araneae, Tengellidae). Am Mus Novit 3065:1-17
36. Eberhard WG, Agnarsson I, Levi HW (2008) Web forms and the phylogeny of theridiid spiders (Araneae: Theridiidae): chaos from order. Systematics and Biodiversity (in press)
37. Edwards GB, Jackson RR (1993) Use of prey-specific predatory behaviour by North American jumping spider (Araneae, Salticidae). J Zool (Lond) 229:709-716
38. Edwards GB, Jackson RR (1994) The role of experience in the development of predatory behaviour in Phidippus regius, a jumping spider (Araneae, Salticidae) from Florida. N Z J Zool 21:269-277
39. Garcia C, Japyassú HF (2005) Plasticity and stereotypy in the predatory sequence of the spider Theridion evexum Keyserling, 1884 (Araneae: Theridiidae). Biota Neotropica 5(1A). http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v5n1a/ pt/abstract?article+BN001051a2005
40. Gittleman JL, Anderson CG, Kot M, Luh H (1998) Comparative tests of evolutionary lability and rates using molecular phylogenies. In: Harvey PH, Leigh Brown AJ, Maynard Smith J, Nee S (eds) New uses for new phylogenies. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 289-307
41. Gotthard K, Nylin S (1995) Adaptive plasticity and plasticity as an adaptation: a selective review of plasticity in animal morphology and life history. Oikos 74:3-17
42. Griswold CE, Coddington JA, Hormiga G, Scharff N (1998) Phylogeny of orb-web building spiders (Araneae, Orbiculariae: Deinopoidea, Araneoidea). Zool J Linn Soc 123:1-99
43. Groppali R, Senna K (2000) Il comportamento predatorio di Pholcus phalangioides. (Fuesslin) (Araneae: Pholcidae). Rev Arachnol 13(7):101-113
44. Harwood RH (1974) Predatory behavior of Argiope aurantia (Lucas). Am Midl Nat 91(1):130-139
45. Hayakawa T (1986) Predatory tactics of Argiope amoena and A. bruennichii in relation to the size and the kind of prey. Atypus 88:7-14
46. Herberstein ME, Abernethy KE, Backhouse K, Bradford H, Crespigny FE, Luckock PR, Elgar MA (1998) The effect of feeding history on prey capture behaviour in the orb-web spider Argiope keyserlingi Karsch (Araneae: Araneidae). Ethology 104:565-571
47. Higgins LE (1990) Variation in foraging investment during the intermolt interval and before egg-laying in the spider Nephila clavipes (Araneae: Araneidae). J Insect Behav 3:773-783
48. Holldobler B (1970) Steatoda fulva (Theridiidae), a spider that feeds on harvester ants. Psyche 77:202-208
49. Hormiga G, Eberhard WG, Coddington JA (1995) Web-construction behaviour in Australian Phonognatha and the phylogeny of Nephiline and Tetragnathid spiders (Araneae; Tetragnathidae). Aust J Zool 43:313-364
50. Jackson RR (1990) Predatory versatility and intraspecific interactions of Cyrba algerina and Cyrba ocellata, web-invading spartaeine jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae). N Z J Zool 17:157-168
51. Jackson RR, Brassington RJ (1987) The biology of Pholcus phalangioides (Araneae: Pholcidae): predatory versatility, araneophagy and aggressive mimicry. J Zool Lond 221:227-238
52. Jackson RR, Hallas SEA (1986) Comparative biology of Portia africana, P. albimana, P. fimbriata, P. labiata, and P. shultzi, araneophagic, web-building jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae): utilisation of webs, predatory versatility, and intraspecific interactions. N Z J Zool 13:423-489
53. Jackson RR, Pollard SD (1996) Predatory behavior of jumping spiders. Ann Rev Entomol 41:287-308
54. Jackson RR, Wilcox S (1993) Spider flexibly chooses aggressive mimicry signals for different prey by trial and error. Behaviour 127:21-36
55. Janetos AC (1982) Foraging tactics of two guilds of web-spinning spiders. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 10:19-27
56. Japyassú HF, Ades C (1998) From complete to semi-orb webs: developmental transitions in the development of the web of Nephilengys cruentata (Araneae, Tetragnathidae). Behaviour 135:931-956
57. Japyassú HF, Jotta EG (2005) Foraging in Achaearanea cinnabarina Levi 1963 (Araneae, Theridiidae) and the evolution of predatory behaviour in cobweb spiders. Biota Neotropica 5(1A). http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v5n1a/ pt/abstract?article+BN003051a2005
58. Japyassú HF, Macagnan CR (2004) Fishing for prey: the evolution of a new predatory tactic among spiders (Araneae, Pholcidae). Revista de Etologia, 6(2):79-94
59. Japyassú HF, Viera C (2002) Predatory plasticity in Nephilengys cruentata (Araneae: Tetragnathidae): relevance for phylogeny reconstruction. Behaviour 139:529-544
60. Japyassú HF, Alberts C, Izar P, Sato T (2006) EthoSeq: a tool for phylogenetic analysis and data mining in behavioral sequences. Behav Res Meth 38(4):549-556
61. Janetos AC (1986) Web-site selection: Are we asking the right questions? In: Shear WA (ed) Spiders: Webs, Behavior and Evolution. Standford University Press, Standford, pp 9-22
62. Knoflach B (2004) Diversity in the copulatory behaviour of comb-footed spiders (Araneae, Theridiidae). Denisia 12:161-256
63. Kropf C (1990) Web construction and prey capture of Comaroma simoni Bertkau (Araneae). Acta Zool Fenn 190:229-233
64. Kuntner M (2006) Phylogenetic systematics of the Gondwanan nephilid spider lineage Clitaetrinae (Araneae, Nephilidae). Zoologica Scripta 35(1):19-62
65. Kuntner M, Coddington J, Hormiga G (2007) Phylogeny of extant nephilid orb-weaving spiders (Araneae, Nephilidae): testing morphological and ethological homologies. Cladistics 23:1-71
66. Lubin YD (1980) The predatory behaviour of Cyrtophora (Araneae: Araneidae). J Arachnol 8:159-185
67. MacKay WP (1982) The effect of predation of western widow spiders (Araneae: Theridiidae) on harvest ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Oecologia (Berl) 53:406-411
68. Maddison WP, Maddison DR (2006) Mesquite: a modular system for evolutionary analysis. Version 1.12 (build H66) http://mesquiteproject.org
69. Martins EP (1996) Phylogenies and the comparative method in animal behavior. Oxford University Press, New York
70. Martins EP, Hansen TF (1996) The statistical analysis of interspecific data: a review and evaluation of phylogenetic comparative methods. In: Martins EP (ed) Phylogenies and the comparative method in animal behavior. Oxford University Press, New York
71. McLennan DA, Brooks DR, McPhail JD (1988) The benefits of communication between comparative ethology and phylogenetic systematics: a case study using gasteroid fishes. Can J Zool 66:2177-2190
72. Nixon KC (1999-2002) WinClada ver. 1.0000 Published by the author. Ithaca, NY, USA
73. Noldus LPJJ, Trienes RJH, Hendriksen AHM, Jansen J, Jansen RG (2000) The Observer Video-Pro: new software for the collection, management, and presentation of time-structured data from videotapes and digital media files. Behav Res Meth Instrum Comput 32:197-206
74. Nyffeler M (1999) Prey selection of spiders in the field. J Arachnol 27:317-324
75. Nyffeler M, Benz G (1987) Spiders in natural pest control: a review. J Appl Entomol 103:321-339
76. Nyffeler M, Dean DA, Sterling WL (1988) The southern black widow spider, Latrodectus mactans (Araneae, Theridiidae), as a predator of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), in Texas cotton fields. J Appl Entomol 106:52-57
77. Nyffeler M, Moor H, Foelix RF (2001) Spiders feeding on earthworms. J Arachnol 29:119-124
78. Olive CW (1980) Foraging specializations in orb-weaving spiders. Ecology 61(5):1133-1144
79. Pasquet A, Leborgne R (1998) Behavioural tactics for prey capture and prey ingestion in two sympatric spiders. Neth J Zool 48(1):39-52
80. Patterson AM, Wallis GP, Gray RD (1995) Penguins, petrels, and parsimony: does cladistic analysis of behavior reflect seabird phylogeny? Evolution 49:974-989
81. Persons MH (2001) Hunger effects on foraging responses to perceptual cues in immature and adult wolf spiders. Anim Behav 57(1):81-88
82. Persons MH, Walker SE, Rypstra AL, Marshall SD (2001) Wolf spider predator avoidance tactics and survival in the presence of diet-associated predator cues (Araneae: Lycosidae). Anim Behav 61(1):43-51
83. Pigliucci M (2001) Phenotypic plasticity: beyond nature and nurture. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore
84. Prum RO (1990) Phylogenetic analysis of the evolution of display behavior in neotropical manakins (Aves: Pipridae). Ethology 84:202-231
85. Riechert SE, Gillespie RG (1986) Habitat choice and utilization in web-building spiders. In: Shear WA (ed) Spiders: Webs, Behavior and Evolution. Standford, Standford University Press, pp 23-48
86. Robinson MH (1969) Predatory behavior of Argiope argentata. Am Zool 9:161-173
87. Robinson MH (1975) The evolution of predatory behaviour in araneid spiders. In: Baerends G, Beer C, Mannings A (eds) Function and Evolution of Behaviour. Clarendon, Oxford, pp 292-312
88. Robinson MH, Lubin YD (1979) Specialists and generalists: the ecology and behavior of some web-building spiders from Papua New Guinea: I. Herennia ornatissima, Argiope ocyaloides and Arachnura melanura (Araneae: Araneidae). Pac Insects 21(2-3):97-132
89. Robinson MH, Lubin YD (1986) Specialist and generalists: The ecology and behavior of some web building spiders from Papua New Guinea. III. Gasteracantha theisi and Gasteracantha taeniata (Araneae: Araneidae). Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress of Arachnology 322
90. Robinson MH, Mirick H (1971) The predatory behaviour of the golden-web spider Nephila clavipes (Araneae: Araneidae). Psyche 78(3):123-139
91. Robinson MH, Olazarri J (1971) Units of behaviour and complex sequences in the predatory behaviour of Argiope argentata (Fabricius) (Araneae: Araneidae). Smith Contrib Zool 65:1-36
92. Robinson MH, Robinson BC (1971) The predatory behavior of the ogre-faced spider Dinopis longipes. Am Midl Nat 85:85-96
93. Robinson MH, Robinson BC (1973) Ecology and behaviour of the giant wood spider Nephila maculata (Fabricius) in New Guinea. Smith Contrib Zool 149:1-75
94. Robinson MH, Mirick H, Turner O (1969) The predatory behavior of some araneid spiders and the origin of immobilization wrapping. Psyche 76:487-501
95. Robinson MH, Robinson BC, Graney W (1971) The predatory behavior of the nocturnal orb web spider Eriophora fuliginea (Araneae, Araneidae). Rev Per Entom 14(2):304-315
96. Rypstra AL (1982) Building a better insect trap; an experimental investigation of prey capture in a variety of spider webs. Oecologia 52:31-36
97. Scharff N, Coddington JA (1997) A phylogenetic analysis of the orb-weaving spider family Araneidae (Arachnida, Araneae). Zool J Linn Soc 120:355-434
98. Scheiner SM (1993) Genetics and evolution of phenotypic plasticity. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 25:35-68
99. Schlichting CD, Pigliucci M (1998) Phenotypic evolution: a reaction norm perspective. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, MA, USA
100. Sherman PM (1994) The orb-web: an energetic and behavioural estimator of a spider's dynamic foraging and reproductive strategies. Anim Behav 48:19-34
101. Silveira DR, Japyassú HF (2002) Coexistência entre predadores: Estratificação vertical de teias em duas espécies de aranhas congenéricas (Araneae: Theridiidae). Rev Etol 3(2):137-144
102. Slikas B (1998) Recognizing and testing homology of courtship displays in storks (Aves: Ciconiformes: Ciconidae). Evolution 52:884-893
103. Thévenard L, Leborgne R, Pasquet A (2004) Web-building management in an orb-weaving spider, Zygiella x-notata: Influence of prey and conspecifics. Comptes Rendus Biologies 327(1):84-92
104. Venner S, Pasquet A, Leborgne R (2000) Web-building behaviour in the orb-weaving spider Zygiella x-notata: influence of experience. Anim Behav 59:603-611
105. Viera C (1986) Comportamiento de captura de Metepeira sp. A (Araneae: Araneidae) sobre Acromyrmex sp. (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) en condiciones experimentales. Aracnologia Supl 6:1-8
106. Viera C (1994) Analisis del comportamiento depredador de Metepeira seditiosa (Keyserling) (Araneae, Araneidae) en condiciones experimentales. Aracnologia Supl 8:1-9
107. Viera C (1995) Discriminacion por Metepeira seditiosa (Keyserling) (Araneae, Araneidae) en condiciones experimentales sobre dos presas frecuentes en el medio. J Arachnol 23:17-24
108. Vollrath F (1987) Altered geometry of webs in spiders with regenerated legs. Nature 328:247-248
109. Wcislo WT (1989) Behavioural environments and evolutionary change. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 20:137-169
110. West-Eberhard MJ (2003) Developmental plasticity and evolution. Oxford University Press, Oxford
111. Whitehouse MEA (1986) The foraging behaviours of Argyrodes antipodiana (Theridiidae), a kleptoparasitic spider from New Zealand. N Z J Zool 13:151-168
112. Whitehouse MEA, Jackson RR (1998) Predatory behaviour and parental care in Argyrodes flavipes, a social spider from Queensland. J Zool Lond 244:95-105
113. Willey MB, Johnson MA, Adler PH (1992) Predatory behavior of the Basilica spider, Mecynogea lemniscata (Araneae, Araneidae). Psyche 99:153-168
114. Witt PN, Baum R (1960) Changes in orb webs of spiders during growth (Araneus diadematus Clerck and Neoscona vertebrata Mc Cook). Behaviour 16:309-318
115. Yoshida M (1989) Predatory behavior of three japanese species of Metleucauge (Araneae, Tetragnathidae). J Arachnol 17:15-25
116. Yoshida M (1990) Predatory behavior of Meta reticuloides. Acta Arachnol 39:27-38
117. Yoshida M, Shinkai A (1993) Predatory behavior and web structure of Meta menardi (Araneae: Tetragnathidae). Acta Arachnol 42(1):21-25
118. Zhivotovsky LA, Feldman MW, Bergman A (1996) On the evolution of phenotypic plasticity in a spatially heterogeneous environment. Evolution 50(2):547-558