The dominance of seismic signaling and selection for signal complexity in Schizocosa multimodal courtship displays

Dangerous mating systems: Signal complexity, signal content and neural capacity in spiders

“…The wolf spider genus Schizocosa has become a classic system for studying complex, multimodal signaling (reviewed in Roberts, 2002 &Hebets et al, 2013). The monophyletic North American genus includes 23 described (and numerous undescribed) species, showing species-specific variation in the use of visual and vibratory courtship signals (Stratton, 2005).…”

“…The monophyletic North American genus includes 23 described (and numerous undescribed) species, showing species-specific variation in the use of visual and vibratory courtship signals (Stratton, 2005). For example, some species employ relatively simple, vibration-only courtship, while others incorporate complex vibratory signals (multicomponent) plus visual signals (multimodal) involving the waving/tapping of sexually dimorphic forelegs (reviewed in Hebets et al, 2013). To date, ~13 species have been the focus of behavioral studies (reviewed in Miller et al, 1998, Bern, 2011.…”

Multimodal signalling in the North American barn swallow: a phenotype network approach

“…observing responses to acoustic signals in the dark), allowing researchers to test for various types of interactions (e.g. dominance, additive or synergistic effects) across modalities [3,10,11]. Similarly, manipulation (rather than isolation) of different signal components within a single modality (e.g.…”

Temporal patterns of nutrition dependence in secondary sexual traits and their varying impacts on male mating success

“…The foreleg pigmentation is absent prior to a male's maturation and, in some species, is influenced by juvenile diet (Schizocosa ocreata: Hebets, Wesson, & Shamble, 2008;Uetz et al, 2002;Schizocosa uetzi: Shamble, Wilgers, Swoboda, & Hebets, 2009;Schizocosa floridana: Rosenthal & Hebets, 2012). In addition to foreleg pigmentation, males also produce a substrate-transmitted acoustic "song," which is usually both necessary and sufficient to elicit copulations (for review, see Hebets et al, 2013; but see Stafstrom & Hebets, 2013). Female mate choice behavior in wolf spiders is as complex as the male's display.…”

“…Schizocosa wolf spiders provide an excellent system for examining temporal patterns of nutrient-dependent secondary sexual traits and their impact on male mating success, as males exhibit a wide range of multicomponent and multimodal courtship behaviors (reviewed in Hebets, Vink, Sullivan-Beckers, & Rosenthal, 2013). Complex courtship displays often comprise pigmented legs that are waved or tapped to produce dynamic visual displays.…”