Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Keyword
-
- Schizocosa (3)
- Communication (2)
- Secondary sexual traits (2)
- Signal evolution (2)
- Adhesion (1)
-
- Amplifier (1)
- Antipredator behavior (1)
- Behavioral plasticity (1)
- Condition-dependent (1)
- Efficacy (1)
- Efficacy back-up (1)
- Foraging (1)
- Intersignal interaction (1)
- Lycosidae (1)
- Mate choice (1)
- Mortality costs (1)
- Motor performance (1)
- Multimodal (1)
- Multimodal signaling (1)
- Palpal organ (1)
- Predation (1)
- Predation risk (1)
- Rabidosa rabida (1)
- Redundant signals (1)
- Sexual selection (1)
- Solifuge (1)
- Spider (1)
- Suctorial organ (1)
Articles 1 - 8 of 8
Full-Text Articles in Behavior and Ethology
Enigmatic Ornamentation Eases Male Reliance On Courtship Performance For Mating Success, Eileen Hebets, Jay A. Stafstrom, Rafael L. Rodriguez, Dustin J. Wilgers
Enigmatic Ornamentation Eases Male Reliance On Courtship Performance For Mating Success, Eileen Hebets, Jay A. Stafstrom, Rafael L. Rodriguez, Dustin J. Wilgers
Eileen Hebets Publications
Female preferences are frequently invoked to explain the widespread occurrence of elaborate male ornaments, yet empirical data demonstrating such preferences are sometimes equivocal or even contradictory. In the wolf spider Schizocosa stridulans, despite evidence of strong female choice, prior research has been unable to link the conspicuous sexually dimorphic foreleg ornamentation of males to their mating success. We conducted three experiments aimed at determining the function of this previously enigmatic ornamentation. Our first two experiments used males with phenotypically modified foreleg phenotypes in simple and complex mating environments in order to examine the relationship between the presence/absence of ornamentation …
More Ornamented Males Exhibit Increased Predation Risk And Antipredatory Escapes, But Not Greater Mortality, Kasey D. Fowler-Finn, Eileen Hebets
More Ornamented Males Exhibit Increased Predation Risk And Antipredatory Escapes, But Not Greater Mortality, Kasey D. Fowler-Finn, Eileen Hebets
Eileen Hebets Publications
Secondary sexual traits not only confer benefits to their bearer through increased mate acquisition, but may also have inherent costs, including the attraction of predators. Here, we examined the relationship between conspicuous secondary sexual traits and predation costs using two male morphs of Schizocosa wolf spiders: brushlegged and non-ornamented. In the field, we ran two predation experiments using artificial enclosures to directly test mortality costs of predation on the two male morphs. Using a natural predator, a larger wolf spider in the genus Hogna, we found no difference in predation on brush-legged vs. non-ornamented males. However, predation was depends …
Chemical Communication In A Multimodal Context, Eileen A. Hebets, Aaron S. Rundus
Chemical Communication In A Multimodal Context, Eileen A. Hebets, Aaron S. Rundus
Eileen Hebets Publications
All animals are equipped with multiple sensory systems (e.g., visual, chemical, acoustic, tactile, electrical, thermal), and signals perceived via these sensory systems facilitate communication. Such communication often involves displays that incorporate more than one signal from more than one sensory modality, resulting in multimodal signaling. The number of empirical and theoretical studies addressing issues of multimodal signaling is ever-increasing and this chapter highlights why crustaceans, as a taxonomic group, are ideal for advancing such studies. Early classifications of multimodal signaling sought to categorize signal components as either redundant or nonredundant, while more recent classifications lay out specific hypotheses relating to …
The Degree Of Response To Increased Predation Risk Corresponds To Male Secondary Sexual Traits, Kasey Fowler-Finn, Eileen Hebets
The Degree Of Response To Increased Predation Risk Corresponds To Male Secondary Sexual Traits, Kasey Fowler-Finn, Eileen Hebets
Eileen Hebets Publications
Secondary sexual traits are expected to reflect a balance between sexual selection and natural selection. We test the hypothesis that plasticity in sexual advertisement behaviors can influence this trade-off, allowing showier traits than expected for a given level of predation risk. Specifically, we tested whether the degree of behavioral plasticity exhibited in response to chemical cues of a co-occurring predatory wolf spider corresponds to courtship rate and the degree of ornamentation in male wolf spiders. Both ornamented (brush-legged) males and non-ornamented males decreased locomotion, decreased their likelihood to court, and increased their time to initiate courtship in response to predator …
Current Status And Future Directions Of Research In Complex Signaling, Eileen Hebets
Current Status And Future Directions Of Research In Complex Signaling, Eileen Hebets
Eileen Hebets Publications
The term ‘complex signaling’ reflects a recent scientific focus on the multiple elements frequently incorporated into animal signals (reviewed in Candolin, 2003; Hebets and Papaj, 2005; Partan and Marler, 2005; Bro-Jorgensen, 2010). It embodies a new appreciation that signals used in communication are regularly composed of numerous components and that each component may individually vary in a number of ways. For example, signal components may vary in their time or mechanism of production, in the efficacy of their transmission, and/or in their mechanism of reception, among others. Employing the term ‘complex signaling’ reminds us of the need to maintain a …
Complex Courtship Displays Facilitate Male Reproductive Success And Plasticity In Signaling Across Variable Environments, Dustin Wilgers, Eileen Hebets
Complex Courtship Displays Facilitate Male Reproductive Success And Plasticity In Signaling Across Variable Environments, Dustin Wilgers, Eileen Hebets
Eileen Hebets Publications
Effective signal transmission is essential for communication. In environments where signal transmission is highly variable, signalers may utilize complex signals, which incorporate multiple components and modalities, to maintain effective communication. Male Rabidosa rabida wolf spiders produce complex courtship signals, consisting of both visual and seismic components. We test the hypothesis that the complex signaling of R. rabida contributes to male reproductive success in variable signaling environments. We first examine the condition-dependence of foreleg ornamentation (a presumed visual signal) and seismic signal components and find that both may provide potentially redundant information on foraging history. Next, we assessed reproductive success across …
A Sticky Situation: Solifugids (Arachnida, Solifugae) Use Adhesive Organs On Their Pedipalps For Prey Capture, Rodrigo H. Willemart, Roger D. Santer, Andrew J. Spence, Eileen Hebets
A Sticky Situation: Solifugids (Arachnida, Solifugae) Use Adhesive Organs On Their Pedipalps For Prey Capture, Rodrigo H. Willemart, Roger D. Santer, Andrew J. Spence, Eileen Hebets
Eileen Hebets Publications
Solifugids (Arachnida, Solifugae) have unique evertable adhesive organs on the tips of their pedipalps, named ‘suctorial’ or ‘palpal’ organs. Previous studies have shown that these organs enable solifugids to climb smooth glass-like surfaces and have hypothesized that these structures facilitate prey capture. Here, we use high-speed videography to demonstrate that the suctorial organs of Eremochelis bilobatus are its primary means of capturing insect prey. We also present calculations of the adhesive pressure exerted by these suctorial organs during real prey capture events.
Females Are Choosier In The Dark: Environment-Dependent Reliance On Courtship Components And Its Impact On Fitness, Aaron S. Rundus, Laura Sullivan-Beckers, Dustin J. Wilgers, Eileen Hebets
Females Are Choosier In The Dark: Environment-Dependent Reliance On Courtship Components And Its Impact On Fitness, Aaron S. Rundus, Laura Sullivan-Beckers, Dustin J. Wilgers, Eileen Hebets
Eileen Hebets Publications
A broad understanding of multimodal courtship function necessitates knowledge of the potential information content of signal components, the efficacy of signal components in eliciting the appropriate receiver response, and the fitness consequences of mating decisions based upon various signal components. We present data addressing each of these requirements for the multimodal-signaling wolf spider, Schizocosa floridana Bryant. Using diet manipulations, we first demonstrate that both visual and seismic courtship signals are condition-dependent. Next, using high- and low-quantity diet individuals in mate choice trials across manipulated signaling environments, we demonstrate that the seismic signal is crucial for mating success and further show …