Communication via substratum-coupled stridulation and reproductive isolation in wolf spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae)

Courtship behavior in European species of the genusPardosa(Araneae, Lycosidae)

“…A similar level of complexity was observed in some other lycosids (Stratton & Uetz 1983;Scheffer et al 1996). As stated by Bull (1979) regarding the complex courtship of the grasshopper Myrmeleotettix maculatus, complexity in visual display might have arisen due to different mechanisms such as 1) an increase in male attractiveness in a heterogeneous environment; 2) reproductive isolation between closely related species upon secondary contact; 3) sexual selection if males with higher display complexity have a greater fitness; and 4) sensory exploitation and female preference for complexity.…”

“…Material: SWEDEN: Dalarna, Ore, various places, mires with Sphagnum, 1973-1981, n 5 5, T. Kronestedt (NHRS); Uppland, various places in the vicinity of Stockholm, mires with Sphagnum, 1972-1983, n 5 13, T. Kronestedt (NHRS).…”

“…In addition, males of some species have epigamic characters like divergent hairiness, deviant pigmentation of the first pair of legs and palps or a combination of these features (Kronestedt 1979a;Stratton 1985;Mc Clintock & Uetz 1996;Scheffer et al 1996;Hebets & Uetz 1999, 2000Taylor et al 2005;Framenau & Hebets 2007). Moreover, communication by percussion, stridulation, and vibration of body parts is also well documented in wolf spiders (Rovner 1967(Rovner , 1975Buckle 1972;Kronestedt 1973Kronestedt , 1990Kronestedt , 1996Stratton & Uetz 1981, 1983, with regard to both substrate-borne and air-borne vibrations. Chemical communication generally involves contact or airborne sexual pheromones and mediates different kinds of interactions (Rovner 1968;Tietjen 1979a, b;Stratton & Uetz 1981;Tietjen & Rovner 1982;Stratton 1985;Kronestedt 1986;Uetz 2000;Barth 2002; Uetz & Roberts 2002;Roberts & Uetz 2004).…”

Female responses to isolated signals from multimodal male courtship displays in the wolf spider genusSchizocosa(Araneae: Lycosidae)

“…In these potentially cannibalistic species, such as some spiders, the efficacy of courtship signals is presumed to be subject to high selection pressures, thus making spiders ideal organisms for studies of sexual selection. The importance of specific species recognition signals in spider courtship displays has been demonstrated by several studies (Stratton & Uetz 1981, 1983, 1986Uetz & Stratton 1982), while others have shown the importance of female choice (Jackson 1977;Watson 1991Watson , 1993Clark & Uetz 1992;Scheffer et al 1996;McClintock & Uetz 1996). However, the selective pressures acting upon the evolution of these signals are not necessarily mutually exclusive.…”

“…We also compare female detection of cues to male courtship displays to explore the possibility of coevolution of signal design and female response. Data on two additional species, S. ocreata and S. rovneri (Stratton & Uetz 1983;Scheffer et al 1996), are included in the analysis to give a more comprehensive overview of the genus.…”