Limits of piriform silk adhesion—similar effects of substrate surface polarity on silk anchor performance in two spider species with disparate microhabitat use

Wolff, Jonas; Little, Douglas; Herberstein, Marie E.

doi:10.1007/s00114-020-01687-w

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…In web-building spiders, the silks at the anchoring point are glue-like cement consisting of aligned nanofibrils, lipid enclosures, and a dense, isotropic boundary layer, which are used to strongly fasten to substrates ( Wolff et al 2015 ). Anchor silk is essential for maintaining the integrity of the cobweb because it is used to hang the whole web ( Wolff et al 2020 ; Figure 1D ). To examine the impact of the feeding regime, we tested and compared the mechanical properties of anchor silks between pretreatment and posttreatment groups.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding mediated web-building plasticity in a cobweb spider

Zhang

et al. 2022

Current Zoology

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Behavioral plasticity has been proposed as a means by which animals alter their phenotypes in response to changing conditions. Animals may display behavioral plasticity as a consequence of environmental variation. The detritus-based, bell-shaped cobweb spider Campanicola campanulata is an ideal model to study behavioral plasticity, because its web architectures are easy to be quantified, and the function of different part of the webs are clear. Though the plasticity of cobweb architecture has been reported in a few species, retreats as important defensive structures have rarely been considered before because retreats in most cobwebs are relatively small comparing with the web size. We studied web-building behaviors of C. campanulata under different feeding regimes. We set up three spider treatments with different feeding conditions: marginally well fed, moderately well-fed and extremely well fed, and observed the differences of the web architectures among them. In addition, we measured the mechanical properties of anchor silk, and also calculated the foraging and defense investment of the spiders. The results showed that marginally well-fed spiders build cobwebs with significantly longer length of anchor silk, lower retreat to the ground, more number and longer gumfooted lines, and larger capture area, while extremely well-fed spiders build cobwebs with significantly bigger retreat volume and higher height of retreat to the ground. In addition, marginally well-fed spiders invest significantly less during cobweb construction. However, there was no significant difference between the breaking force and elongation at break in anchor silk among different treatments. These results demonstrated that marginally well-fed spiders invest more in foraging, and extremely well-fed spiders invest more in defense, and the spider made a balance between foraging and predator avoidance in response to changes in physiological state. Our study strengthens the current understanding of web construction in cobweb spiders, especially those facing high costs during retreat construction.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding mediated web-building plasticity in a cobweb spider

Zhang

et al. 2022

Current Zoology

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“…Similarly, the desert-inhabiting social eresid spiders, Stegodyphus dumicola , construct their colonial webs on taller rigid plants with thorns [ 54 ]. Individual spiders seem to select optimal host plants based on the structural properties of the plant, including their fractal dimension [ 104 ], while some web-building spiders select web-attachment sites on substrate depending on its hydrophobicity [ 105 ].…”

Section: How Might Spiders Identify and Locate Their Host Plant?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Host Plant Specificity in Web-Building Spiders

Hesselberg

Boyd

Styrsky

et al. 2023

Insects

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Spiders are ubiquitous generalist predators playing an important role in regulating insect populations in many ecosystems. Traditionally they have not been thought to have strong influences on, or interactions with plants. However, this is slowly changing as several species of cursorial spiders have been reported engaging in either herbivory or inhabiting only one, or a handful of related plant species. In this review paper, we focus on web-building spiders on which very little information is available. We only find well-documented evidence from studies of host plant specificity in orb spiders in the genus Eustala, which are associated with specific species of swollen thorn acacias. We review what little is known of this group in the context of spider–plant interactions generally, and focus on how these interactions are established and maintained while providing suggestions on how spiders may locate and identify specific species of plants. Finally, we suggest ideas for future fruitful research aimed at understanding how web-building spiders find and utilise specific plant hosts.

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“…For example, in vertical webs, the spiders build larger capture areas below the hub because they can run faster down than up, which encourages them to expand that area of their effective control (Rhisiart and Vollrath 1994 ; Watanabe 2000 ; Zschokke 2011 ). Whilst this functionality is easily tested, much more difficult to study are the effects of internal and environmental factors and the constraints they might impose on webs (Anotaux et al 2016 ; Dyson 2018 ; Hesselberg 2013 ; Mazzia et al 2020 ; Pasquet et al 2013 ; Schneider and Vollrath 1998 ; Tew and Hesselberg 2018 , 2017 ; Vollrath et al 1997 ; Wolff et al 2020 ; Wu et al 2013 ). For example, in windy conditions, spiders like the garden cross spider Araneus diadematus alter many web features (presumably in order to minimise wind damage) such as total web area, capture spiral area, web eccentricity, mesh space, capture spiral count, radial count, total radial length and total capture spiral length (Vollrath et al 1997 ; Wu et al 2013 ; Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic environments do not appear to constrain spider web building behaviour

Mulder

Wilkins

Mortimer

et al. 2021

Sci Nat

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Many laboratory experiments demonstrate how orb-web spiders change the architecture of their webs in response to prey, surroundings and wind loading. The overall shape of the web and a range of other web parameters are determined by frame and anchor threads. In the wild, unlike the lab, the anchor threads are attached to branches and leaves that are not stationary but move, which affects the thread tension field. Here we experimentally test the effect of a moving support structure on the construction behaviour and web-parameters of the garden cross spider Araneus diadematus. We found no significant differences in building behaviour between rigid and moving anchors in total time spent and total distance covered nor in the percentage of the total time spent and distance covered to build the three major web components: radials, auxiliary and capture spirals. Moreover, measured key parameters of web-geometry were equally unaffected. These results call for re-evaluation of common understanding of spider webs as thread tensions are often considered to be a major factor guiding the spider during construction and web-operation.

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Limits of piriform silk adhesion—similar effects of substrate surface polarity on silk anchor performance in two spider species with disparate microhabitat use

Cited by 6 publications

References 58 publications

Feeding mediated web-building plasticity in a cobweb spider

Feeding mediated web-building plasticity in a cobweb spider

Host Plant Specificity in Web-Building Spiders

Dynamic environments do not appear to constrain spider web building behaviour

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