The visual system of the Australian wolf spider Lycosa leuckartii (Araneae: Lycosidae): visual acuity and the functional role of the eyes

Clemente, Christofer J.; McMaster, Kellie; Fox, Elizabeth; Meldrum, Lisa; Stewart, Tom; Main, Barbara York

doi:10.1636/b09-96.1

Cited by 19 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In both day and night, a decrease in mobility may have the benefit to decrease predator encounter rates and remain undetected (Werner & Anholt 1993). However, many diurnal spider species can also detect prey visually over larger distances (Persons & Uetz 1997;Clemente et al 2010). Thus, during the day, increased mobility might likewise be an effective antipredator response, as predators need to invest high energetic costs when following prey over larger distances (e.g., Nordlund & Morrison 1990) and prey avoid being followed by elicit pursuit-deterrent signals (e.g., repeated movements, Hasson 1991;Caro 2005).…”

Section: Wood Crickets Perform Predator-specific Antipredator Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; Clemente et al. ). Prey are therefore expected to decrease mobility when detecting cues of nocturnal predators, as immobility reduces potential vibratory prey cues.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Moreover, the diurnal activity cycle of a predator can also influence antipredator behavior, as nocturnal predators use different stimuli for prey detection than diurnal ones. While nocturnal predators mainly depend on vibratory stimuli for locating and capturing prey (Uetz & Roberts 2002;Young & Morain 2002;Foelix 2011), diurnal predators also hunt by sight (Persons & Uetz 1997;Archer et al 1999;Clemente et al 2010). Prey are therefore expected to decrease mobility when detecting cues of nocturnal predators, as immobility reduces potential vibratory prey cues.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Knowing the Risk: Crickets Distinguish between Spider Predators of Different Size and Commonness

et al. 2013

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Predators unintentionally release chemical and other cues into their environment that can be used by prey to assess predator presence. Prey organisms can therefore perform specific antipredator behavior to reduce predation risk, which can strongly shape the outcome of trophic interactions. In contrast to aquatic systems, studies on cue‐driven antipredator behavior in terrestrial arthropods cover only few species to date. Here, we investigated occurrence and strength of antipredator behavior of the wood cricket Nemobius sylvestris toward cues of 14 syntopic spider species that are potential predators of wood crickets. We used two different behavioral arena experiments to investigate the influence of predator cues on wood cricket mobility. We further tested whether changes in wood cricket mobility can be explained by five predator‐specific traits: hunting mode, commonness, diurnal activity, predator–prey body–size ratio, and predator–prey life stage differences. Crickets were singly recorded (1) in separate arenas, either in presence or absence of spider cues, to analyze changes in mobility on filter paper covered with cues compared with normal mobility on filter paper without cues; and (2) in subdivided arenas partly covered with spider cues, where the crickets could choose between cue‐bearing and cue‐less areas to analyze differences in residence time and mobility when crickets are able to avoid cues. Crickets either increased or reduced their mobility in the presence of spider cues. In the experiments with cues and controls in separate arenas, the magnitude of behavioral change increased significantly with increasing predator–prey body size ratio. When crickets could choose between spider cues and control, their mobility was significantly higher in the presence of cues from common spider species than from rare spiders. We therefore conclude that wood crickets distinguish between cues from different predator species and that spiders unintentionally release a species‐specific composition and size‐dependent quantity of cues, which lead to distinct antipredator behavior in wood crickets.

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Section: Wood Crickets Perform Predator-specific Antipredator Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; Clemente et al. ). Prey are therefore expected to decrease mobility when detecting cues of nocturnal predators, as immobility reduces potential vibratory prey cues.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Knowing the Risk: Crickets Distinguish between Spider Predators of Different Size and Commonness

et al. 2013

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“…Two notable exceptions are the ground-dwelling spider families Salticidae (the jumping spiders) and Lycosidae (the wolf spiders). Spiders from both families possess enlarged eyes used in foraging and mating contexts [5][6][7][8][9][10]. In stark contrast with their ground-dwelling relatives, an enhanced visual system is rare in web-building spiders, which tend to rely more on vibrational cues in their web for foraging and mating [4,11,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nocturnal foraging enhanced by enlarged secondary eyes in a net-casting spider

Stafstrom¹,

Hebets²

2016

Biol. Lett.

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Animals that possess extreme sensory structures are predicted to have a related extreme behavioural function. This study focuses on one such extreme sensory structure-the posterior median eyes of the net-casting spider Deinopis spinosa. Although past research has implicated the importance of vision in the nocturnal foraging habits of Deinopis, no direct link between vision in the enlarged eyes and nocturnal foraging has yet been made. To directly test the hypothesis that the enlarged posterior median eyes facilitate visually based nocturnal prey capture, we conducted repeated-measures, visual occlusion trials in both natural and laboratory settings. Our results indicate that D. spinosa relies heavily on visual cues detected by the posterior median eyes to capture cursorial prey items. We suggest that the enlarged posterior median eyes benefit D. spinosa not only through increased diet breadth, but also by allowing spiders to remain active solely at night, thus evading predation by diurnal animals.

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“…Compared to other groups such as lycosids and salticids (Clark & Uetz ; Clemente et al . ), orb‐weavers have a poor sense of vision and do not perceive light color. However, some orb‐weavers can detect very subtle changes in light intensity and the behavior of dropping from the web when an observer approaches is probably a response to visual stimuli alone (Foelix ).…”

Section: Occurrence Of Females Of Yellow and Brown Morphs Found On Thmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substrate preference in a colonial spider: is substrate choice affected by color morph?

Campón

2013

Entomological Science

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Animals can show preference for a particular background as a way of decreasing visibility. Species with color polymorphism may have morph-dependent background preference. I test this hypothesis on the orb-weaving spider Parawixia bistriata. Adult females of P. bistriata present two distinct morphs characterized by brown and yellow opisthosomata. This nocturnal spider can be found in its retreat on the vegetation during the day. In order to examine whether females exhibit substrate preference dependent on their color morph, I first recorded the distribution of color morphs on different substrates (leaf and branch) and then performed a mark and release experiment. Field censuses indicated that the yellow morph was associated with leaves while the brown morph was found on either substrate type. The results of a mark and reciprocal release experiment agreed with the censuses and suggest that the two morphs differ in their association to substrate type: yellow females were associated with the leaf substrate, while brown females showed no association to a particular substrate type. Possible forces behind these differences in substrate choice are discussed.

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The visual system of the Australian wolf spider Lycosa leuckartii (Araneae: Lycosidae): visual acuity and the functional role of the eyes

Cited by 19 publications

References 31 publications

Knowing the Risk: Crickets Distinguish between Spider Predators of Different Size and Commonness

Knowing the Risk: Crickets Distinguish between Spider Predators of Different Size and Commonness

Nocturnal foraging enhanced by enlarged secondary eyes in a net-casting spider

Substrate preference in a colonial spider: is substrate choice affected by color morph?

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