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Peng Y, Zhang F, Hu D, Li D, Zhao Y, Peng Y. Communal rearing induces high predatory capacity in a solitary wolf spider and its potential in pest control. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10024. [PMID: 37082325 PMCID: PMC10111170 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Behavioral plasticity is of great significance because it allows individuals to flexibly respond to variations in the ecological and social environment. To date, there is little published data on the topic of whether the early rearing experience of spiders influences their later foraging behavior. Pardosa pseudoannulata (Araneae: Lycosidae) is a solitary wolf spider, it is a major predator of pests such as Nilaparvata lugens in rice fields. In this study, we aim to develop a communal rearing protocol for spiders. We conducted a rearing study in the lab that one group of wolf spiders was reared communally and a second group was reared individually. We compared the survival rates and predatory capacity of P. pseudoannulata in both settings. Survival rates were similar overall. At forty-five days, survival rates were below 40% for both groups. Raising spiders communally led to higher foraging levels. Across all tested time points, spiders reared communally hunted more fruit flies than those reared individually. Significant differences were found between the two rearing groups after hunting for seven and 10 min. Field experiment showed that release of communal-reared spiders significantly reduced the pest N. lugens population. Our research provides reference for the large-scale breeding of spiders and their application as biological control agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaqi Peng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Development and Environmental Response, Faculty of Resources and Environmental ScienceHubei UniversityWuhanChina
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life SciencesHubei UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Fan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life SciencesHubei UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Die Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life SciencesHubei UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Dong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life SciencesHubei UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Yao Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life SciencesHubei UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Yu Peng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Development and Environmental Response, Faculty of Resources and Environmental ScienceHubei UniversityWuhanChina
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Stoffer B, Uetz GW. Juvenile vibratory experience affects adult mate preferences in a wolf spider. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-023-03312-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/05/2023]
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3
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Learning how to eavesdrop in multiple modalities: a test of associative learning using unimodal and multimodal playback. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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The information provided by the absence of cues: insights from Bayesian models of within and transgenerational plasticity. Oecologia 2020; 194:585-596. [PMID: 33128089 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04792-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Empirical studies of phenotypic plasticity often use an experimental design in which the subjects in experimental treatments are exposed to cues, while the subjects in control treatments are maintained in the absence of those cues. However, researchers have virtually ignored the question of what, if any, information might be provided to subjects by the absence of the cues in control treatments. We apply basic principles of information-updating to several experimental protocols used to study phenotypic plasticity in response to cues from predators to show why the reliability of the information provided by the absence of those cues in a control treatment might vary as a function of the subjects' experiences in the experimental treatment. We then analyze Bayesian models designed to mimic fully factorial experimental studies of trans and within-generational plasticity, in which parents, offspring, both or neither are exposed to cues from predators, and the information-states of the offspring in the different groups are compared at the end of the experiment. The models predict that the pattern of differences in offspring information-state across the four treatment groups will vary among experiments, depending on the reliability of the information provided by the control treatment, and the parent's initial estimate of the value of the state (the parental Prior). We suggest that variation among experiments in the reliability of the information provided by the absence of particular cues in the control treatment may be a general phenomenon, and that Bayesian approaches can be useful in interpreting the results of such experiments.
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Uetz GW, Clark DL, Kane H, Stoffer B. Listening in: the importance of vibratory courtship signals for male eavesdropping in the wolf spider, Schizocosa ocreata. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2743-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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Kozak EC, Uetz GW. Male courtship signal modality and female mate preference in the wolf spider Schizocosa ocreata: results of digital multimodal playback studies. Curr Zool 2019; 65:705-711. [PMID: 31857817 PMCID: PMC6911845 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoz025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2018] [Accepted: 05/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Females must be able to perceive and assess male signals, especially when they occur simultaneously with those of other males. Previous studies show female Schizocosa ocreata wolf spiders display receptivity to isolated visual or vibratory courtship signals, but increased receptivity to multimodal courtship. It is unknown whether this is true when females are presented with a choice between simultaneous multimodal and isolated unimodal male courtship. We used digital playback to present females with a choice simulating simultaneous male courtship in different sensory modes without variation in information content: 1) isolated unimodal visual versus vibratory signals; 2) multimodal versus vibratory signals; and 3) multimodal versus visual signals. When choosing between isolated unimodal signals (visual or vibratory), there were no significant differences in orientation latency and number of orientations, approaches or receptive displays directed to either signal. When given a choice between multimodal versus vibratory-only male courtship signals, females were more likely to orient to the multimodal stimulus, and directed significantly more orients, approaches and receptivity behaviors to the multimodal signal. When presented with a choice between multimodal and visual-only signals, there were significantly more orients and approaches to the multimodal signal, but no significant difference in female receptivity. Results suggest that signal modes are redundant and equivalent in terms of qualitative responses, but when combined, multimodal signals quantitatively enhance detection and/or reception. This study confirms the value of testing preference behavior using a choice paradigm, as female preferences may depend on the context (e.g., environmental context and social context) in which they are presented with male signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth C Kozak
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - George W Uetz
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
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Macario A, Croft DP, Darden SK. Male phenotypic diversity experienced during ontogeny mediates female mate choice in guppies. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Macario
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Darren P Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Safi K Darden
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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Dion E, Monteiro A, Nieberding CM. The Role of Learning on Insect and Spider Sexual Behaviors, Sexual Trait Evolution, and Speciation. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Cory AL, Schneider JM. Mate availability does not influence mating strategies in males of the sexually cannibalistic spider Argiope bruennichi. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5360. [PMID: 30123703 PMCID: PMC6086085 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 07/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Sexual selection theory predicts that male investment in a current female should be a function of female density and male competition. While many studies have focused on male competition, the impact of female density on male mating investment has been widely neglected. Here, we aimed to close this gap and tested effects of mate density on male mating decisions in the orb-web spider Argiope bruennichi. Males of this species mutilate their genitalia during copulation, which reduces sperm competition and limits their mating rate to a maximum of two females (bigyny). The mating rate is frequently further reduced by female aggression and cannibalization. Males can reduce the risk of cannibalism if they jump off the female in time, but will then transfer fewer sperm. An alternative solution of this trade-off is to copulate longer, commit self-sacrifice and secure higher minimal paternity. The self-sacrificial strategy may be adaptive if prospective mating chances are uncertain. In A. bruennichi, this uncertainty may arise from quick changes in population dynamics. Therefore, we expected that males would immediately respond to information about low or high mate availability and opt for self-sacrifice after a single copulation under low mate availability. If male survival depends on information about prospective mating chances, we further predicted that under high mate availability, we would find a higher rate of males that leave the first mating partner to follow a bigynous mating strategy. Method We used naïve males and compared their mating decisions among two treatments that differed in the number of signalling females. In the high mate availability treatment, males perceived pheromone signals from four adult, virgin females, while in the low mate availability treatment only one of four females was adult and virgin and the other three were penultimate and unreceptive. Results Males took more time to start mate searching if mate availability was low. However, a self-sacrificial strategy was not more likely under low mate availability. We found no effects of treatment on the duration of copulation, the probability to survive the first copulation or the probability of bigyny. Interestingly, survival chances depended on male size and were higher in small males. Discussion Our results do not support the hypothesis that mate density variation affects male mating investment, although they clearly perceived mate density, which they presumably assessed by pheromone quantity. One reason for the absence of male adjustments to mating tactics could be that adaptations to survive female attacks veil adaptations that facilitate mating decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna-Lena Cory
- Institute of Zoology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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Gilman RT, Fowler-Finn K, Hebets EA. A Probable Case of Incipient Speciation in Schizocosa Wolf Spiders Driven by Allochrony, Habitat Use, and Female Mate Choice. Am Nat 2018; 192:332-346. [PMID: 30125229 DOI: 10.1086/698302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
There is growing evidence that speciation can occur between populations that are not geographically isolated. The emergence of assortative mating is believed to be critical to this process, but how assortative mating arises in diverging populations is poorly understood. The wolf spider genus Schizocosa has become a model system for studying mechanisms of assortative mating. We conducted a series of experiments to identify the factors that control mate pair formation in a Schizocosa population that includes both ornamented and nonornamented males. We show that the population also includes two previously unrecognized female phenotypes. One female phenotype mates mostly or exclusively with ornamented males, and the other mates mostly or exclusively with unornamented males. Assortative mating within these groups is maintained by differences in maturation time, microhabitat use, and female mate preference. We conclude that the population is not a single species, as previously believed, but rather an incipient species pair with multiple overlapping mechanisms of reproductive isolation. The identification of a new incipient species pair in the well-studied and rapidly speciating Schizocosa clade presents new opportunities for the study of speciation without geographic isolation.
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Uetz GW, Stoffer B, Lallo MM, Clark DL. Complex signals and comparative mate assessment in wolf spiders: results from multimodal playback studies. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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12
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The effects of experience with different courtship modalities on unimodal and multimodal preferences in a wolf spider. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.10.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Fowler‐Finn KD, Cruz DC, Rodríguez RL. Local population density and group composition influence the signal‐preference relationship in
Enchenopa
treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae). J Evol Biol 2016; 30:13-25. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2016] [Revised: 09/20/2016] [Accepted: 10/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- K. D. Fowler‐Finn
- Department of Biology Saint Louis University Saint Louis MO USA
- Behavioral and Molecular Ecology Group Department of Biological Sciences University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Milwaukee WI USA
| | - D. C. Cruz
- Behavioral and Molecular Ecology Group Department of Biological Sciences University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Milwaukee WI USA
| | - R. L. Rodríguez
- Behavioral and Molecular Ecology Group Department of Biological Sciences University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Milwaukee WI USA
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Travers LM, Simmons LW, Garcia-Gonzalez F. Lifetime changes in phenotypic expression and evolutionary potential of female mating traits in Drosophila melanogaster. Anim Behav 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Stoffer B, Uetz GW. Tuft size matters: the effects of adult visual social experience on female mate preferences in a wolf spider. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2225-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Kozak EC, Uetz GW. Cross-modal integration of multimodal courtship signals in a wolf spider. Anim Cogn 2016; 19:1173-1181. [PMID: 27557952 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-016-1025-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2016] [Revised: 08/05/2016] [Accepted: 08/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Cross-modal integration, i.e., cognitive binding of information transmitted in more than one signal mode, is important in animal communication, especially in complex, noisy environments in which signals of many individuals may overlap. Males of the brush-legged wolf spider Schizocosa ocreata (Hentz) use multimodal communication (visual and vibratory signals) in courtship. Because females may be courted by multiple males at the same time, they must evaluate co-occurring male signals originating from separate locations. Moreover, due to environmental complexity, individual components of male signals may be occluded, altering detection of sensory modes by females. We used digital multimodal playback to investigate the effect of spatial and temporal disparity of visual and vibratory components of male courtship signals on female mate choice. Females were presented with male courtship signals with components that varied in spatial location or temporal synchrony. Females responded to spatially disparate signal components separated by ≥90° as though they were separate sources, but responded to disparate signals separated by ≤45° as though they originated from a single source. Responses were seen as evidence for cross-modal integration. Temporal disparity (asynchrony) in signal modes also affected female receptivity. Females responded more to male signals when visual and vibratory modes were in synchrony than either out-of-synch or interleaved/alternated. These findings are consistent with those seen in both humans and other vertebrates and provide insight into how animals overcome communication challenges inherent in a complex environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth C Kozak
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, P.O. Box 210006, Cincinnati, OH, 45221-0006, USA
| | - George W Uetz
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, P.O. Box 210006, Cincinnati, OH, 45221-0006, USA.
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Stoffer B, Williams ME, Uetz GW. Variation in female mate preference in response to eavesdropping “interloper” males. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Clark DL, Kizer Zeeff C, Karson A, Roberts JA, Uetz GW. Risky Courtship: Background Contrast, Ornamentation, and Display Behavior of Wolf Spiders Affect Visual Detection by Toad Predators. Ethology 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Adam Karson
- Department of Biology Alma College Alma MI USA
| | - J. Andrew Roberts
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology The Ohio State University at Newark Newark OH USA
| | - George W. Uetz
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Cincinnati Cincinnati OH USA
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Multimodal Communication in Wolf Spiders (Lycosidae)—An Emerging Model for Study. ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.asb.2016.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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