The foraging success of trap-building animals depends entirely on the characteristics of their traps (Scharf, Lubin, & Ovadia, 2011). Traps with sub-optimal design will capture fewer and/or inadequate prey, negatively affecting the quality and quantity of ingested food. For example, spider webs with small areas or reduced stickiness per square centimeter will intercept and retain fewer insects than larger and stickier webs, respectively (Opell, 1999). Given that the traps that animals build to capture prey are considered extended phenotypes and reflect how organisms optimize their foraging, their design should be subjected to
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