Can morphological and behavioral traits predict the foraging and feeding dynamics of social arachnids?

Abstract

Complex social insect species exhibit task specialization mediated by morphological and behavioral traits. However, evidence of such traits is scarce for other social arthropods. We investigated whether the social pseudoscorpion Paratemnoides nidificator exhibits morphologically and behaviorally specialized individuals in prey capture. We measured body and chela sizes of adult pseudoscorpions and analyzed predation processes. Larger individuals spent more time moving through the colony and foraging than smaller pseudoscorpions. Individuals that captured prey had increased body and absolute chelae sizes. Although larger individuals had relatively small chelae size, they showed a higher probability of prey capture. Larger individuals manipulated prey often, although they fed less than smaller pseudoscorpions. Individuals that initiated captures fed more frequently and for more time than the others. Natural selection might be favoring individuals specialized in foraging and colony protection, allowing smaller and less efficient adults to avoid contact with dangerous prey. To our knowledge, there is incipient information regarding specialized individuals in arachnids, and our results might indicate the emergence of a morphologically specialized group in this species.

The Complex and Well-Developed Morphological and Histological Structures of the Gastrointestinal Tract of the Plateau Zokor Improve Its Digestive Adaptability to High-Fiber Foods

“…Morphological and histological traits enable species to perform certain functions, and the specific morphological and histological characteristics that they have can enhance the adaptability of a species to the environments [ 1 ]. In recent years, many researchers have focused on the adaptability of an animal’s external morphology to the environments that it lives in [ 2 , 3 ], while the adaptability of visceral organ morphology to these environments, especially that of digestive organs, has been overlooked. The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is the main part of the animal digestive system and plays an irreplaceable role in digesting food, such as obtaining external nutrients, maintaining body-fluid and electrolyte balance, and removing metabolic wastes [ 4 ].…”