Antiherbivore protection and plant selection by the lynx spider Peucetia flava (Araneae: Oxyopidae) in the Brazilian Cerrado

Abstract

Spiders are ubiquitous in most vegetation, however very little empirical data are available on specific spider–plant interactions and their reciprocal outcomes. In the Brazilian Cerrado, the plant Mimosa setosa var. paludosa, (Fabaceae) has glandular trichomes in its leaves and stems, commonly entrapping insects (i.e. carrion) as well as hosting the lynx spider, Peucetia flava. We hypothesized that: (1) the damage inflicted by exophytic (leaves) and endophytic (seeds) herbivore insects that overcome the glandular trichomes is lower in plants where the lynx spider is present; and (2) the presence of this predator is positively related to food availability (live insects and/or carrion) and plant size. We performed field observations and an experimental field study in terms of the spider's presence versus absence on the Fabaceae plants. Our results showed that the proportion of damaged foliolules on the Fabaceae plants differed between the spiders‐present and spiders‐absent treatments, and that the absence of spiders led to a 3.3‐fold increase in the number of damaged foliolules. However, there was no significant difference in the proportion of seeds taken by endophytic herbivores from branches with and without spiders. We also found that the presence of Peucetia flava was positively related to the presence of entrapped carrion on plants, and that there was a positive and marginally significant effect of increasing abundance of the spiders on taller plants. The results of this study suggest that it is more common to find lynx spiders interacting with M. setosa var. paludosa in larger plants with higher carrion abundance (food source), and that P. flava and M. setosa var. paludosa interact in a facultative mutualism, in which plants provide entrapped carrion for spiders to feed on and possibly facilitate prey manipulation. In return, lynx spiders decrease the damage inflicted by exophytic, but not by endophytic herbivores. These results also contribute to a better understanding of which ecological factors may affect plant selection by lynx spiders and what the influence of this predator is on the structure of food webs in glandular plants.

Climate seasonality drives ant–plant–herbivore interactions via plant phenology in an extrafloral nectary‐bearing plant community

“…Therefore, greater activity of these protective structures (Calixto et al., 2015) is expected when new plant tissues are produced (i.e. at the beginning of the rainy season; Calixto, Lange, Bronstein, Torezan‐Silingardi, & Del‐Claro, 2020; Calixto et al., 2018; Del‐Claro et al., 2016; Del‐Claro, Stefani, Nahas, & Torezan‐Silingardi, 2017; Sousa‐Lopes, Alves‐da‐Silva, Alves‐Martins, & Del‐Claro, 2019). Seasonal variation in the abundance of ants and herbivores were also related to seasonal climatic conditions of the Brazilian Cerrado (Vilela et al, 2014, 2018).…”

The role of a rosette‐shaped plant (Eryngium horridum, Apiaceae) on grassland spiders along a grazing intensity gradient

“…Overall, compared to other microhabitats, rosette-shaped plants seem to operate like diversity amplifiers within ecosystems (Gonçalves- Souza et al, 2010;Barrancos et al, 2017). Spiders are widely distributed throughout natural and seminatural ecosystems worldwide (Lessard-therrien et al, 2018;Mestre et al, 2018), and their diversity is highly influenced by habitat complexity and prey availability (Harwood et al, 2003;Sousa-Lopes et al, 2019). Spiders are commonly classified into guilds according to their foraging strategies (Uetz et al, 1999;Cardoso et al, 2011) and each guild interacts differently with rosette-shaped plants.…”

Host Plant Specificity in Web-Building Spiders

“…Glandular trichomes are hair-like structures believed to have evolved as a direct biotic defence against herbivorous insects [ 43 , 44 ]. The insects and carrion (i.e., dead insects) trapped by the glandular hairs represent an energetically cost-free, accessible food source [ 45 ], which attracts arthropod predators, such as spiders, for added protection against herbivory [ 40 , 45 , 46 ]. In three complementary studies, Morais-Filho and Romero [ 39 , 40 , 47 ] observed Peucetia flava exclusively in association with Rhyncanthera dichotoma .…”

“…dichotoma fitness (i.e., through predation of pollinators), signifying a potential protective mutualism. Moreover, a recent study by Sousa-Lopes et al [ 45 ] found that the presence of P. flava on the trichome-bearing Mimosa setosa var. paludosa positively correlated with an increase in trapped prey and carrion.…”

“…Omena and Romero [ 56 ] inferred that this extreme fidelity was related to microhabitat structure, and observations by Romero and Vasconcellos-Neto [ 28 , 55 ] affirmed this after finding that P. chapoda seldom colonised bromeliads in forest habitats as leaves would often obstruct the rosette, hindering any use of the microhabitat. Likewise, some studies have reported that Peucetia spiders preferentially select larger plants as they offer more sites to forage and refuge, and attract and trap more insect prey [ 45 , 57 ]. Prey, and other sources of nutrients, are also key determinants, especially in terms of exploitable sources of food, which we see examples of in all three spider families discussed.…”