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Behavior and Ethology Commons

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University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Eileen Hebets Publications

Secondary sexual traits

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Behavior and Ethology

More Ornamented Males Exhibit Increased Predation Risk And Antipredatory Escapes, But Not Greater Mortality, Kasey D. Fowler-Finn, Eileen Hebets Feb 2011

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 …


The Degree Of Response To Increased Predation Risk Corresponds To Male Secondary Sexual Traits, Kasey Fowler-Finn, Eileen Hebets Jan 2011

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 …


A Review Of Leg Ornamentation In Male Wolf Spiders, With The Description Of A New Species From Australia, Artoria Schizocoides (Araneae, Lycosidae), Volker W. Framenau, Eileen Hebets Jan 2007

A Review Of Leg Ornamentation In Male Wolf Spiders, With The Description Of A New Species From Australia, Artoria Schizocoides (Araneae, Lycosidae), Volker W. Framenau, Eileen Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Morphological modifications of the first pair of legs in addition to widespread color variations of these legs among males of closely related species have been reported in a variety of spiders. Here, the evidence for sexual dimorphism in male foreleg morphology within wolf spiders (family Lycosidae) is reviewed and shown to occur in a number of species belonging to at least seven genera in five subfamilies: Alopecosa, Hogna, Schizocosa (all Lycosinae) Pirata (Piratinae), Evippa, (Evippinae), Pardosa (Pardosinae) and Artoria (Artoriinae). These modifications, often in combination with distinct dark pigmentation, can be divided into three major groups: leg elongation, segment …