Huddling up in a dry environment: the physiological benefits of aggregation in an intertidal gastropod

Rojas, José M.; Castillo, Simon P.; Escobar, José Pablo; Shinen, Jennifer L.; Bozinovic, Francisco

doi:10.1007/s00227-012-2164-6

Cited by 25 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…In arthropods, aggregation behavior is often seen to lower susceptibility to dehydration as it reduces the body surface area exposed to the air (Allee, 1926 ; Broly et al, 2013 ) and can create a local microclimate of increased humidity for all group individuals, thus decreasing the water loss rate (Schliebe, 1988 ; Yoder et al, 2002 ). This has been verified in a variety of organisms where positive effects of group size were found in terms of reduced weight and water loss and increased survival (Glass et al, 1998 ; Ivarsson and Jonsson, 2004 ; Rojas et al, 2013 ). This can be particularly relevant for several social spider species (including S. dumicola ) as they inhabit periodically arid areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Clustering of individuals is an important behavioral adaptation for arthropods that are either susceptible to water loss due to high evaporation rates and/or that inhabit arid environments. Indeed, several studies reveal a lower weight loss rate (snails, Rojas et al, 2013 ; woodlice, Broly et al, 2014 ), water loss rate (dust mites, Glass et al, 1998 ; bed bugs, Benoit et al, 2007 ) and higher survival (Ivarsson and Jonsson, 2004 ) in larger groups compared to solitary individuals under desiccation stress. Aggregation in clusters reduces the body surface area exposed to the air (Allee, 1926 ; Broly et al, 2014 ) and can create a local microclimate of increased humidity for all individuals in the group (Schliebe, 1988 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Benefits of Group Living Include Increased Feeding Efficiency and Lower Mass Loss during Desiccation in the Social and Inbreeding Spider Stegodyphus dumicola

et al. 2016

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Group living carries a price: it inherently entails increased competition for resources and reproduction, and may also be associated with mating among relatives, which carries costs of inbreeding. Nonetheless, group living and sociality is found in many animals, and understanding the direct and indirect benefits of cooperation that override the inherent costs remains a challenge in evolutionary ecology. Individuals in groups may benefit from more efficient management of energy or water reserves, for example in the form of reduced water or heat loss from groups of animals huddling, or through reduced energy demands afforded by shared participation in tasks. We investigated the putative benefits of group living in the permanently social spider Stegodyphus dumicola by comparing the effect of group size on standard metabolic rate, lipid/protein content as a body condition measure, feeding efficiency, per capita web investment, and weight/water loss and survival during desiccation. Because energetic expenditure is temperature sensitive, some assays were performed under varying temperature conditions. We found that feeding efficiency increased with group size, and the rate of weight loss was higher in solitary individuals than in animals in groups of various sizes during desiccation. Interestingly, this was not translated into differences in survival or in standard metabolic rate. We did not detect any group size effects for other parameters, and group size effects did not co-vary with experimental temperature in a predictive manner. Both feeding efficiency and mass loss during desiccation are relevant ecological factors as the former results in lowered predator exposure time, and the latter benefits social spiders which occupy arid, hot environments.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benefits of Group Living Include Increased Feeding Efficiency and Lower Mass Loss during Desiccation in the Social and Inbreeding Spider Stegodyphus dumicola

et al. 2016

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“…The influence of group size and social context on different aspects of the individual has become an important issue since the pioneering works of Allee [ 1 ], Grassé [ 2 ] and Uvarov [ 3 ]. Numerous studies on various species have shown that group size can modulate the physiological and behavioural characteristics of the individuals such as the growth rate and adult weight [ 4 – 6 ], the individual loss of water [ 7 , 8 ] or the chances of escaping predators [ 9 – 11 ]. In recent years, the study of the influence of group size on individual behaviour during the collective decision-making has been gaining interest [ 12 – 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Group choices seemingly at odds with individual preferences

et al. 2017

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Numerous studies have focused on the influence of the social environment and the interactions between individuals on the collective decision-making of groups. They showed, for example, that attraction between individuals is at the origin of an amplification of individual preferences. These preferences may concern various environmental cues such as biomolecules that convey information about the environment such as vanillin, which, for some insects, is an attractant. In this study, we analysed how the social context of the cockroaches of the species Periplaneta americana modifies preferences when individuals are offered two shelters, of which one is vanillin scented. One of the principal results of our study is that isolated individuals stay longer and more frequently in a vanillin-scented shelter, while groups choose more frequently the unscented one. Moreover, the proportion of sheltered insects is larger when the group selects the unscented shelter. Our experimental results and theoretical model suggest that the individual preference is not inverted when insects are in a group but, rather, the response to vanillin decreases the attraction between individuals. As a result, aggregation is favoured in the unscented shelter, leading therefore to a collective inversion.

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“…We used infrared thermal imaging as a noncontact and noninvasive technique for temperature measurement (Lathlean & Seuront, ; Lathlean, Seuront, & Ng, ; Seuront et al, ). This method is widely used in a range of fields, especially in intertidal rocky shore systems (Chapperon & Seuront, , ; Lathlean, Ayre, & Minchinton, ; Lathlean & Seuront, ; Rojas et al, ), and allows measurement of the complex thermal patterns of natural and/or artificial surfaces at micro‐scales (few cm's) (Seuront et al, ). We used this technique because we were focused on the spatial patterns of substrate temperature instead of organisms' tissue temperatures, for which data loggers or thermocouples would be more appropriated (see Judge, Choi, & Helmuth, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping microhabitat thermal patterns in artificial breakwaters: Alteration of intertidal biodiversity by higher rock temperature

Aguilera

Arias

Manzur

2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Urbanization is altering community structure and functioning in marine ecosystems, but knowledge about the mechanisms driving loss of species diversity is still limited. Here, we examine rock thermal patterns in artificial breakwaters and test whether they have higher and spatially less variable rock temperature than natural adjacent habitats, which corresponds with lower biodiversity patterns. We estimated rock temperatures at mid‐high intertidal using infrared thermography during mid‐day in summer, in both artificial (Rip‐raps) and natural (boulder fields) habitats. We also conducted diurnal thermal surveys (every 4 hr) in four seasons at one study site. Concurrent sampling of air and seawater temperature, wind velocity, and topographic structure of habitats were considered to explore their influence on rock temperature. Rock temperature was in average 3.7°C higher in the artificial breakwater in two of the three study sites, while air temperature was about 1.5–4°C higher at this habitat at summer. Thermal patterns were more homogeneous across the artificial habitat. Lower species abundance and richness in the artificial breakwaters were associated with higher rock temperature. Mechanism underlying enhanced substrate temperature in the artificial structures seems related to their lower small‐scale spatial heterogeneity. Our study thus highlighted that higher rock temperature in artificial breakwaters can contribute to loss of biodiversity and that integrated artificial structures may alter coastal urban microclimates, a matter that should be considered in the spatial planning of urban coastal ecosystems.

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Huddling up in a dry environment: the physiological benefits of aggregation in an intertidal gastropod

Cited by 25 publications

References 44 publications

Benefits of Group Living Include Increased Feeding Efficiency and Lower Mass Loss during Desiccation in the Social and Inbreeding Spider Stegodyphus dumicola

Benefits of Group Living Include Increased Feeding Efficiency and Lower Mass Loss during Desiccation in the Social and Inbreeding Spider Stegodyphus dumicola

Group choices seemingly at odds with individual preferences

Mapping microhabitat thermal patterns in artificial breakwaters: Alteration of intertidal biodiversity by higher rock temperature

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