Web architecture, dynamics and silk investment in the social spider Stegodyphus sarasinorum

Beleyur, Thejasvi; Murthy, Tejas G.; Singh, Saurabh; Somanathan, Hema; Uma, Divya

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.06.029

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…We found that hungry colonies of S. sarasinorum invested similarly in cribellate capture silk as well-fed colonies, whereas hungry colonies invested significantly less in retreats, showing a trade-off in the investment of retreats for capture webs. A previous study on S. sarasinorum demonstrated that group living did not entail per-capita savings in capture web silk (Beleyur et al 2021 ). Here, we confirm this finding and additionally show that group living does not lead to savings on per-capita retreat silk investment, even when colonies were hungry.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Extended phenotypes can underlie trade-offs: a case of social spiders

Parthasarathy

Bouchard

Schneider

2022

Sci Nat

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Extended phenotypes engineered by animals can potentially improve safety and/or foraging. Whether the well-known trade-off between safety and foraging applies for extended phenotypes, and if so, how it is resolved has not been determined. Spiders build elaborate silk structures that serve as traps for their insect prey and often attach silken retreats (nests) to their capture webs. These extended phenotypes of spiders are made of silk that is considered costly since it is made of protein. Using the Indian social spider, Stegodyphus sarasinorum, we examined how simple proximal factors, like colony hunger state and group size, shape trade-offs in collectively built extended phenotypes that offer shelter and food. We found that well-fed colonies showed greater investment in retreat silk than starved colonies. However, the two groups did not differ in their investment in capture webs. Hence, our findings validate the starvation-risk taking hypothesis in an extended phenotypic paradigm by showing that hungry colonies trade-off retreat size for capture web, irrespective of group size.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Extended phenotypes can underlie trade-offs: a case of social spiders

Parthasarathy

Bouchard

Schneider

2022

Sci Nat

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“…Social spiders are considered successful because of their ability to collectively capture more prey (Lubin & Bilde 2007). Studies on social spiders worldwide have largely focused on hunting and web-building behaviors (Settepani et al 2013;Modlmeier et al 2014;Beleyur et al 2015Beleyur et al , 2021Parthasarathy et al 2019;). But the intriguing associates of social spiders merit further research to understand factors influencing sociality in spiders.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aliens in the society: foreign arthropods and small vertebrates associated with the social spider Stegodyphus sarasinorum Karsch, 1892 (Araneae: Eresidae)

Jani

Caleb

Kapoor

et al. 2023

The Journal of Arachnology

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Animals use nests for various functions including laying eggs, raising young and gaining protection from predators. Social insect colonies provide rich microhabitats for various foreign inhabitants. Social spiders in the family Eresidae live in large, long-lasting colonies with a dense silken nest where spiders reside in complex capture webs. Social spider colonies contain several organisms apart from the host spiders, yet little is known about the foreign species and their roles. In this study, we cataloged foreign animals found in the nests and webs of the Indian social spider Stegodyphus sarasinorum Karsch, 1892 from different sites in India. We then examined the abundance and diversity of foreign spiders in adult and juvenile colonies, and the nature of interaction of foreign spiders with host S. sarasinorum spiders. We found spiders classified into nine families and insects classified into five orders and a few small vertebrate taxa associated with S. sarasinorum colonies. Adult S. sarasinorum nests and webs contained significantly more foreign spiders than juvenile colonies. However, diversity of foreign spiders did not increase with the number of host spiders. Additionally, we found that foreign spiders found inside the nests preyed on individual S. sarasinorum spiders. Our study sheds light onto the intriguing biology of nest- and web-associates of social spiders.

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“…One such group is the velvet spiders (Eresidae), a small group of approximately 102 species that mostly construct an asymmetrical retreat web on the soil, under rocks or under bark [2] . Only the genus Stegodyphus , comprising social and solitary species, constructs a retreat web in the foliage of plants [ 3 , 4 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%