A Parasitoid Wasp Induces Overwintering Behaviour in Its Spider Host

Parasites and parasitoids control behaviors of their hosts. However, the origin of the behavior evoked by the parasitic organism has been rarely identified. It is also not known whether the manipulation is universal or host-specific. Polysphinctine wasps, koinobiont ectoparasitoids of several spider species that manipulate host web-spinning activity for their own protection during pupation, provide an ideal system to reveal the origin of the evoked behavior. Larva of Zatypota percontatoria performed species-specific manipulation of theridiid spiders, Neottiura bimaculata and Theridion varians, shortly before pupation. Parasitized N. bimaculata produced a dense web, whereas parasitized T. varians built a cupola-like structure. The larva pupated inside of either the dense web or the cupola-like structure. We discovered that unparasitized N. bimaculata produce an analogous dense web around their eggsacs and for themselves during winter, while T. varians construct an analogous ‘cupola’ only for overwintering. We induced analogous manipulation in unparasitized hosts by altering ambient conditions. We discovered that the behavior evoked by larvae in two hosts was functionally similar. The larva evoked protective behaviors that occur in unparasitized hosts only during specific life-history periods

Global Patterns of Guild Composition and Functional Diversity of Spiders

The objectives of this work are: (1) to define spider guilds for all extant families worldwide; (2) test if guilds defined at family level are good surrogates of species guilds; (3) compare the taxonomic and guild composition of spider assemblages from different parts of the world; (4) compare the taxonomic and functional diversity of spider assemblages and; (5) relate functional diversity with habitat structure. Data on foraging strategy, prey range, vertical stratification and circadian activity was collected for 108 families. Spider guilds were defined by hierarchical clustering. We searched for inconsistencies between family guild placement and the known guild of each species. Richness and abundance per guild before and after correcting guild placement were compared, as were the proportions of each guild and family between all possible pairs of sites. Functional diversity per site was calculated based on hierarchical clustering. Eight guilds were discriminated: (1) sensing, (2) sheet, (3) space, and (4) orb web weavers; (5) specialists; (6) ambush, (7) ground, and (8) other hunters. Sixteen percent of the species richness corresponding to 11% of all captured individuals was incorrectly attributed to a guild by family surrogacy; however, the correlation of uncorrected vs. corrected guilds was invariably high. The correlation of guild richness or abundances was generally higher than the correlation of family richness or abundances. Functional diversity was not always higher in the tropics than in temperate regions. Families may potentially serve as ecological surrogates for species. Different families may present similar roles in the ecosystems, with replacement of some taxa by other within the same guild. Spiders in tropical regions seem to have higher redundancy of functional roles and/or finer resource partitioning than in temperate regions. Although species and family diversity were higher in the tropics, functional diversity seems to be also influenced by altitude and habitat structure

The World Spider Trait database: a centralized global open repository for curated data on spider traits

Spiders are a highly diversified group of arthropods and play an important role in terrestrial ecosystems as ubiquitous predators, which makes them a suitable group to test a variety of eco-evolutionary hypotheses. For this purpose, knowledge of a diverse range of species traits is required. Until now, data on spider traits have been scattered across thousands of publications produced for over two centuries and written in diverse languages. To facilitate access to such data, we developed an online database for archiving and accessing spider traits at a global scale. The database has been designed to accommodate a great variety of traits (e.g. ecological, behavioural and morphological) measured at individual, species or higher taxonomic levels. Records are accompanied by extensive metadata (e.g. location and method). The database is curated by an expert team, regularly updated and open to any user. A future goal of the growing database is to include all published and unpublished data on spider traits provided by experts worldwide and to facilitate broad cross-taxon assays in functional ecology and comparative biology.Fil: Pekár, Stano. Masaryk University; República ChecaFil: Wolff, Jonas O. University of Greifswald; AlemaniaFil: Cernecká, L'udmila. Slovak Academy of Sciences; ArgentinaFil: Birkhofer, Klaus. Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus; AlemaniaFil: Mammola, Stefano. University of Helsinki; FinlandiaFil: Lowe, Elizabeth C.. Macquarie University; AustraliaFil: Fukushima, Caroline S.. University of Helsinki; FinlandiaFil: Herberstein, Marie E.. Macquarie University; AustraliaFil: Kucera, Adam. Masaryk University; República ChecaFil: Buzatto, Bruno A.. University of Western Australia; AustraliaFil: Djoudi, El Aziz. Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus; AlemaniaFil: Domenech, Marc. Universidad de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Enciso, Alison Vanesa. Fundación Protectora Ambiental Planadas Tolima; ColombiaFil: Piñanez Espejo, Yolanda María Guadalupe. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Posadas | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Posadas; ArgentinaFil: Febles, Sara. No especifíca;Fil: García, Luis F. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Gonçalves Souza, Thiago. Universidad Federal Rural Pernambuco; BrasilFil: Isaia, Marco. Università di Torino; ItaliaFil: Lafage, Denis. Universite de Rennes I; FranciaFil: Líznarová, Eva. Masaryk University; República ChecaFil: Macías Hernández, Nuria. Universidad de La Laguna; EspañaFil: Fiorini de Magalhaes, Ivan Luiz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Malumbres Olarte, Jagoba. Universidade Dos Açores; PortugalFil: Michálek, Ondrej. Masaryk University; República ChecaFil: Michalik, Peter. ERNST MORITZ ARNDT UNIVERSITÄT GREIFSWALD (UG);Fil: Michalko, Radek. No especifíca;Fil: Milano, Filippo. Università di Torino; ItaliaFil: Munévar, Ana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú; ArgentinaFil: Nentwig, Wolfgang. University of Bern; SuizaFil: Nicolosi, Giuseppe. Università di Torino; ItaliaFil: Painting, Christina J. No especifíca;Fil: Pétillon, Julien. Universite de Rennes I; FranciaFil: Piano, Elena. Università di Torino; ItaliaFil: Privet, Kaïna. Universite de Rennes I; FranciaFil: Ramirez, Martin Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Ramos, Cândida. No especifíca;Fil: Rezác, Milan. No especifíca;Fil: Ridel, Aurélien. Universite de Rennes I; FranciaFil: Ruzicka, Vlastimil. No especifíca;Fil: Santos, Irene. No especifíca;Fil: Sentenská, Lenka. Masaryk University; República ChecaFil: Walker, Leilani. No especifíca;Fil: Wierucka, Kaja. Universitat Zurich; SuizaFil: Zurita, Gustavo Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Posadas | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Posadas; ArgentinaFil: Cardoso, Pedro. No especifíca

The World Spider Trait database : a centralised global open repository for curated data on spider traits

Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press.Spiders are a highly diversified group of arthropods and play an important role in terrestrial ecosystems as ubiquitous predators, which makes them a suitable group to test a variety of eco-evolutionary hypotheses. For this purpose, knowledge of a diverse range of species traits is required. Until now, data on spider traits have been scattered across thousands of publications produced for over two centuries and written in diverse languages. To facilitate access to such data, we developed an online database for archiving and accessing spider traits at a global scale. The database has been designed to accommodate a great variety of traits (e.g. ecological, behavioural and morphological) measured at individual, species or higher taxonomic levels. Records are accompanied by extensive metadata (e.g. location and method). The database is curated by an expert team, regularly updated and open to any user. A future goal of the growing database is to include all published and unpublished data on spider traits provided by experts worldwide and to facilitate broad cross-taxon assays in functional ecology and comparative biology. Database URL:https://spidertraits.sci.muni.cz/.Peer reviewe

Specialist ant-eating spiders selectively feed on different body parts to balance nutrient intake

Specialized predators must obtain all required nutrients from a single prey species. In some species nutrient balance may be possible by selecting various body parts. We tested how different ant body parts affect the fitness of a specialized ant predator and whether the predator possesses adaptations in its feeding behaviour that allow nutrient balancing while feeding on only a single prey species. We used a formicine-specialist spider, Zodarion rubidum, reared on three diet types: an entire ant, two ant gasters and two ant foreparts (heads, thoraces and legs) of Lasius ants. Spiders grew faster, survived longer and developed earlier on the diet consisting of two ant foreparts. Spiders fed on the two ant gasters had the slowest growth, highest mortality and slowest development while spiders fed entire ants showed intermediate performance. In preference experiments, we studied the spiders' consumption of three Formicinae ant species that differ markedly in size. With small Lasius ants, spiders equally exploited the gaster and the foreparts, but with larger Formica and Camponotus ants, spiders fed significantly more on the foreparts than on the gaster. Spiders almost always fed on the gaster, suggesting that it might include beneficial nutrients. Nutritional analysis of the ant bodies of the three species revealed that there were more lipids in the gaster, while the foreparts contained more proteins. Our results suggest that ant-eating spiders might balance their nutritional needs by selectively consuming various body parts of their exclusive prey.6 page(s