The role of silk in courtship and communication in mygalomorph spiders: Do males regulate their courtship in response to female mating status?

Copperi, Sofía; Ferretti, Nelson Edgardo; Peretti, Alfredo V.

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103939

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Tactile, seismic and vibratory signals are the most obvious channels of sexual communication in the group. In A. centralis (Pycnothelidae), silk‐borne pheromones play a major role in the initial phase of male–female interactions, perhaps providing males with information about the reproductive status and receptiveness of the female (Copperi et al., 2019). However, the potential role of chemical communication in the courtship stage is hard to observe.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mating behavior of the Sydney funnel‐web spider (Atracidae:Atrax robustus) and implications for the evolution of courtship in mygalomorph spiders

Frank

Christensen²,

Lourenço

et al. 2023

Journal of Zoology

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Spiders have become a model group for sexual selection and mating system studies, but our understanding of courtship behavior in the group is heavily biased towards the infraorder Araneomorphae ('modern' spiders, such as orb weavers, jumping spiders, wolf spiders, crab spiders and many more). In the Mygalomorphae (tarantulas, trapdoor spiders, funnel-web spiders and relatives), only a few descriptions of courtship are available and recent developments in the phylogenetics of the group offer an opportunity to remap and investigate the evolution of mating behaviors. Using 81 trials filmed in captivity, we report on the courtship behaviors of the iconic Sydney funnel-web spider (Atracidae: Atrax robustus), which belongs to a large clade of biologically understudied mygalomorphs. Thirteen distinct behaviors are described for males, out of which at least two seem new to mygalomorphs, while four female behaviors are described. Moreover, the sequences of male behaviors are presented for when they come into contact with females inside or outside of their burrows. The mating positions of the pair, including details of how males use their legs and clasping spurs to grasp the females, are also presented. We discuss our results in a modern phylogenetic context, filling a gap in the understanding of sexual selection in the Mygalomorphae where such studies are rare and biased towards tarantulas. Finally, we attempt to consolidate descriptions of potentially homologous behaviors from several families in the group and offer insights into the evolution of cannibalism, male clasping spurs and female catalepsis (quiescence while mating).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mating behavior of the Sydney funnel‐web spider (Atracidae:Atrax robustus) and implications for the evolution of courtship in mygalomorph spiders

Frank

Christensen²,

Lourenço

et al. 2023

Journal of Zoology

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“…Mechanisms of reproductive isolation in mygalomorph spiders are not well understood. Upon reaching maturity, males emerge from their burrows and seek females, likely by detecting pheromones associated with the female's silk-lined burrow (Copperi et al, 2019;Costa et al, 2013;Coyle, 1985). The male may tap on the burrow entrance to generate vibratory signals to entice the female to the burrow entrance to mate (Costa et al, 2013;Coyle & Shear, 1981;Ferretti et al, 2013;Frank et al, 2023;Jackson & Pollard, 1990).…”

Section: Speciation Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microgeographic population structuring in a genus of California trapdoor spiders and discovery of an enigmatic new species (Euctenizidae: Promyrmekiaphila korematsui sp. nov.)

Starrett,

Jochim,

Quayle

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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The recognition and delineation of cryptic species remains a perplexing problem in systematics, evolution, and species delimitation. Once recognized as such, cryptic species complexes provide fertile ground for studying genetic divergence within the context of phenotypic and ecological divergence (or lack thereof). Herein we document the discovery of a new cryptic species of trapdoor spider, Promyrmekiaphila korematsui sp. nov. Using subgenomic data obtained via target enrichment, we document the phylogeography of the California endemic genus Promyrmekiaphila and its constituent species, which also includes P. clathrata and P. winnemem. Based on these data we show a pattern of strong geographic structuring among populations but cannot entirely discount recent gene flow among populations that are parapatric, particularly for deeply diverged lineages within P. clathrata. The genetic data, in addition to revealing a new undescribed species, also allude to a pattern of potential phenotypic differentiation where species likely come into close contact. Alternatively, phenotypic cohesion among genetically divergent P. clathrata lineages suggests that some level of gene flow is ongoing or occurred in the recent past. Despite considerable field collection efforts over many years, additional sampling in potential zones of contact for both species and lineages is needed to completely resolve the dynamics of divergence in Promyrmekiaphila at the population–species interface.

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“…In many species of araneomorph spider, aerial webs are created in complex vegetation or habitat (Dimitrov & Hormiga, 2021). These webs often serve multiple purposes, such as prey capture, predator warning, and shelter, and are also used in courtship and mating signals (Copperi et al, 2019;Dimitrov & Hormiga, 2021). In web-dwelling species, sexually mature males must abandon their own web in order to search for a conspecific female's web in a complex, 3dimensional environment (Kasumovic & Andrade, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weathering the storm for love: Mate searching behaviour of wild males of the Sydney funnel-web spider (Atrax robustus)

Creak,

Muirhead,

Kasumovic

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The risky business of mate-searching often leaves the actively searching sex facing threats and rapidly changing conditions. Yet, active mate-searching behaviour is rarely studied in invertebrates, and we have limited understanding of how mate-searching strategies have evolved to cope with risks posed by harsh weather. We investigated how mate-searching males move through their habitat and how their movement is affected by weather conditions in the Sydney funnel-web spider (Atrax robustus), one of the world's most venomous spiders. As is common in mygalomorphs spiders, females are functionally sessile, and are thought to spend their whole lives in a single burrow, whereas males must permanently abandon their burrows to mate during the breeding season. Nineteen male spiders were fitted with micro-radio transmitters and tracked during their mating seasons in 2020 (n = 2), 2021 (n = 8) and 2022 (n = 9) in Lane Cove National Park, in Sydney, Australia. Males moved at night, typically in a zig-zag pattern, and were found in new locations on approximately 50% of daily resighting's. Males often spent several days in a female's burrow, and some female burrows were visited by multiple males. When outside a female's burrow, males constructed and occupied temporary shelters ('temporacula'). Males were most likely to move and/or moved furthest when there was no rain, and on warm nights after cool days. Our findings suggest that mate-searching A. robustus males prefer to search for females in less risky conditions, revealing novel risk-minimizing strategies, especially in response to rainfall and temperature.

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The role of silk in courtship and communication in mygalomorph spiders: Do males regulate their courtship in response to female mating status?

Cited by 4 publications

References 49 publications

Mating behavior of the Sydney funnel‐web spider (Atracidae:Atrax robustus) and implications for the evolution of courtship in mygalomorph spiders

Mating behavior of the Sydney funnel‐web spider (Atracidae:Atrax robustus) and implications for the evolution of courtship in mygalomorph spiders

Microgeographic population structuring in a genus of California trapdoor spiders and discovery of an enigmatic new species (Euctenizidae: Promyrmekiaphila korematsui sp. nov.)

Weathering the storm for love: Mate searching behaviour of wild males of the Sydney funnel-web spider (Atrax robustus)

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