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Trait Evolution In Spiders: Perspectives On The Evolution Of Behavioral Syndromes And Web Structures, Jennifer Marie Bosco

Doctoral Dissertations

Organisms have evolved complex behavioral, morphological and physiological traits in response to various selection pressures. These phenotypes are usually composed of many traits that may or may not be genetically or phenotypically correlated. Correlations of both types can lead to evolutionary trade-offs, which may be broken over long evolutionary time periods through such mechanisms as the decoupling of genetic linkages and the development of phenotypic plasticity. Behavioral traits associated with temperament provide an excellent system in which to evaluate underlying mechanisms of the establishment and decoupling of genetic linkages. Other traits, such as the type of web that a spider …