Spider Size and Locomotion on the Water Surface (Araneae, Pisauridae)

Suter, Robert B.; Gruenwald, J. M.

doi:10.1636/0161-8202(2000)028[0300:ssalot]2.0.co;2

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Conversely, our results also indicate that static hyperallometry does not constitute irrefutable evidence for strong directional sexual selection: we found hyperallometric scaling for leg measurements of male A. remigis whereas selection assays indicate inconsistent and generally weak directional sexual selection on these traits (Fairbairn and Preziosi 1996). Static hyperallometry of leg lengths in Gerris and Aquarius species may be due to the functional constraints of locomotion on the water surface (Klingenberg and Zimmermann 1992; Suter and Gruenwald 2000), rather than being associated with patterns of sexual selection. Whatever the functional significance of the allometry of the leg measures in A. remigis , the scaling relationships of these traits clearly illustrate the complexity of the relationships linking sexual selective regimes and trait variation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Form of Sexual Selection on Male Genitalia Cannot Be Inferred From Within-Population Variance and Allometry?a Case Study in Aquarius Remigis

Bertin

Fairbairn

2007

Evolution

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Male genital morphology in insects and arachnids is characterized by static hypoallometry and low intrapopulational levels of phenotypic variation relative to other male traits. The one-size-fits-all model of genital evolution attributes these patterns to stabilizing sexual selection. This model relies on the assumption that the observed patterns of variation and allometry reflect the form of sexual selection acting these traits. We test this by examining the patterns of scaling and trait variation for a set of genitalic and somatic morphological traits in male water striders (Aquarius remigis). This suite of traits is of particular interest because previous work has shown that the genitalic traits are under strong directional selection whereas the somatic traits are under either weak directional or stabilizing selection. Because the selection regime for these traits is known, we can, for the first time, test the purported relationship between trait variation, scaling, and the form of sexual selection. We show that the patterns of variation and scaling of these traits differ sharply from those predicted for traits experiencing strong directional sexual selection. Specifically, the male genital structures show static hypoallometry and low intrapopulational levels of phenotypic variation relative to other male traits, in spite of consistent, strong, directional sexual selection. These scaling relationships and levels of variation are typical of genital traits in other insect species, where they have been presumed to reflect stabilizing sexual selection. Our data clearly refute the assumption of the one-size-fits-all hypothesis that hypoallometric scaling of genitalic traits implies stabilizing selection. We discuss the implications of this finding and propose future directions for improving our current understanding of genital evolution in arthropods.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Form of Sexual Selection on Male Genitalia Cannot Be Inferred From Within-Population Variance and Allometry?a Case Study in Aquarius Remigis

Bertin

Fairbairn

2007

Evolution

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“…A second resistive force is also operative in these adult surface-walking animals as well as in their smallest progeny, a force neither anticipated in the earlier models of Denny (1993) and 'Vogel (1994) nor in the studies of Suter and his colleagues (Suter et al 1997;Suter and Wildman 1999;Suter & Gruenwald 2000a). It is now clear that nanoscale interactions between the strider's leg hairs and the water surface (Feng et al 2007) have magnitudes large enough to contribute Figure 6.…”

Section: Biomechanics Of Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Hu and Bush (2010) reported fishing spiders rowing at a mean velocity of 0.15 m/s and galloping at 0.35 m/s. Suter and Gruenwald (2000a) measured rowing velocities achieved by many sizes of the fishing spider, Dolotnedes triton: spiders spanning a 600-fold range of masses could all row at about the same velocity (mean = 0.11 m/s), with the largest variation occurring at the very smallest sizes. In terms of relative velocity, however, largely because of the increase in stride frequency with decreasing mass, the smallest spiders rowed at about 42 body lengths per second while the largest spiders only achieved about 6 bl/s.…”

Section: Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Spider locomotion on the water surface: biomechanics and diversity

Suter¹

2013

The Journal of Arachnology

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Spiders in many families are capable of locomotion on the surface of water, a capability that, at its simplest, requires only a strongly hydrophobic integument and the same postures and motions that are used on land. Specialized aquatic gaits, in contrast, are only characteristic in the Pisauridae, Trechaleidae, Ctenidae, and Tetragnathidae. They are less common features of aquatic locomotion in Lycosidae, are only occasionally encountered in Salticidae, and are rare in Araneidae. Most of what is known about the biomechanics of these specialized gaits comes from research on fishing spiders (Pisauridae) and, because the physics and hydrodynamics are similar in many respects, on water striders (Insecta: Hemiptera: Gerridae). In what follows, I have concentrated on the biomechanics of propulsion in water-walking spiders and water striders because propulsion on the air-water interface was mysterious until the 1990s when researchers began seeking answers to the central question: What provides the resistance against which a spider or water strider pushes when it sweeps its legs backward? The answers, now nearly complete, include a) dimple distortion, b) drag, c) generation of vortices, and d) nanoscale brushing of the water surface by hydrophilic hairs.

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“…Other authors have found hyperallometric relationships in body parts that are not explained by sexual selection but that are also associated with larger or heavier individuals. Examples are the tails of newts, which allow a greater propulsive force during swimming (Green 1992); the width of atlas vertebrae of the Caribou (Rangifer tarandus), which are hyperallometric because of the relatively greater mass of muscles that has to be supported in larger individuals (Hardy and Stroud 1981); the relatively longer wing-bones in larger birds, which are probably related to lift requirements and size-dependent variation in flight behavior (flapping vs. soaring;Nudds 2007); and the longer legs of larger individual aquatic insects and spiders, which enable locomotion on the water surface (Klingenberg andZimmermann 1992, Suter andGruenwald 2000). Likewise, wing dimorphism of some birds has been interpreted as a need to provide aerodynamic compensation for their sexually selected long tails (Andersson and Andersson 1994).…”

Section: Malesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Most Extreme Sexual Size Dimorphism among Birds: Allometry, Selection, and Early Juvenile Development in the Great Bustard (Otis tarda)

Alonso¹,

Magaña²,

Alonso³

et al. 2009

The Auk

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Resumen.-Otis tarda es el ave con mayor dimorfismo sexual y una de las de mayor peso entre las que conservan la capacidad de vuelo. Los machos adultos capturados en España fueron 2.48 veces más pesados que las hembras y sus medidas lineales un 18-30% mayores que las de las hembras. Entre finales del invierno y la estación reproductiva el peso medio aumentó en un 16% en las hembras y en un 20% en los machos. El dimorfismo sexual se manifiesta en los pollos de esta especie a edades muy tempranas, lo que implica que los machos han de sufrir un mayor costo durante el crecimiento que las hembras. El peso y el dedo medio mostraron en los machos un desarrollo hiperalométrico en relación con la longitud alar, mientras que estas medidas fueron isométricas en las hembras. Además, dichas medidas fueron las que presentaron mayor variabilidad fenotípica de entre todos los caracteres biométricos medidos en los machos, siendo éstas también más variables en los machos que en las hembras. Aunque la hiperalometría y una mayor varianza han sido frecuentemente utilizadas como argumento para apoyar la selección sexual como fuerza evolutiva, nuestros resultados sugieren que el peso y el dedo medio han sufrido procesos evolutivos diferentes. La competencia sexual entre machos es muy marcada en esta especie, y un mayor peso facilita el acceso a las hembras. Por ello, la selección sexual ha debido favorecer un incremento del peso hasta el límite impuesto por el beneficio derivado de seguir conservando la capacidad de vuelo. Por otro lado, como Otis tarda es un ave poco propensa a volar y que se desplaza fundamentalmente caminando, la hiperalometría del dedo medio ha debido desarrollarse por selección natural, como respuesta al enorme peso, para cumplir adecuadamente la función de soporte y mantenimiento del equilibrio.

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Spider Size and Locomotion on the Water Surface (Araneae, Pisauridae)

Cited by 14 publications

References 9 publications

The Form of Sexual Selection on Male Genitalia Cannot Be Inferred From Within-Population Variance and Allometry?a Case Study in Aquarius Remigis

The Form of Sexual Selection on Male Genitalia Cannot Be Inferred From Within-Population Variance and Allometry?a Case Study in Aquarius Remigis

Spider locomotion on the water surface: biomechanics and diversity

The Most Extreme Sexual Size Dimorphism among Birds: Allometry, Selection, and Early Juvenile Development in the Great Bustard (Otis tarda)

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