scholarly journals Eavesdropping and signal matching in visual courtship displays of spiders

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Clark ◽  
J. Andrew Roberts ◽  
George W. Uetz
Keyword(s):  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Video Playback ◽  
Predator Detection ◽  
Wolf Spiders ◽  
Aggressive Interactions ◽  
Schizocosa Ocreata ◽  
Male Stimulus ◽  
Experienced Male ◽  
Male Contests ◽  
Courtship Displays

Eavesdropping on communication is widespread among animals, e.g. bystanders observing male–male contests, female mate choice copying and predator detection of prey cues. Some animals also exhibit signal matching, e.g. overlapping of competitors' acoustic signals in aggressive interactions. Fewer studies have examined male eavesdropping on conspecific courtship, although males could increase mating success by attending to others' behaviour and displaying whenever courtship is detected. In this study, we show that field-experienced male Schizocosa ocreata wolf spiders exhibit eavesdropping and signal matching when exposed to video playback of courting male conspecifics. Male spiders had longer bouts of interaction with a courting male stimulus, and more bouts of courtship signalling during and after the presence of a male on the video screen. Rates of courtship (leg tapping) displayed by individual focal males were correlated with the rates of the video exemplar to which they were exposed. These findings suggest male wolf spiders might gain information by eavesdropping on conspecific courtship and adjust performance to match that of rivals. This represents a novel finding, as these behaviours have previously been seen primarily among vertebrates.

scholarly journals The brain transcriptome of the wolf spider, Schizocosa ocreata

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Stribling ◽  
Peter L. Chang ◽  
Justin E. Dalton ◽  
Christopher A. Conow ◽  
Malcolm Rosenthal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Transcriptome Assembly ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
De Novo Transcriptome Assembly ◽  
De Novo Transcriptome ◽  
Wolf Spiders ◽  
Schizocosa Ocreata ◽  
Genomic Studies ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Objectives Arachnids have fascinating and unique biology, particularly for questions on sex differences and behavior, creating the potential for development of powerful emerging models in this group. Recent advances in genomic techniques have paved the way for a significant increase in the breadth of genomic studies in non-model organisms. One growing area of research is comparative transcriptomics. When phylogenetic relationships to model organisms are known, comparative genomic studies provide context for analysis of homologous genes and pathways. The goal of this study was to lay the groundwork for comparative transcriptomics of sex differences in the brain of wolf spiders, a non-model organism of the pyhlum Euarthropoda, by generating transcriptomes and analyzing gene expression. Data description To examine sex-differential gene expression, short read transcript sequencing and de novo transcriptome assembly were performed. Messenger RNA was isolated from brain tissue of male and female subadult and mature wolf spiders (Schizocosa ocreata). The raw data consist of sequences for the two different life stages in each sex. Computational analyses on these data include de novo transcriptome assembly and differential expression analyses. Sample-specific and combined transcriptomes, gene annotations, and differential expression results are described in this data note and are available from publicly-available databases.

Foreleg Autotomy Reduces Mating Success of Male Schizocosa ocreata Wolf Spiders

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 193-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip W. Taylor ◽  
J. Andrew Roberts ◽  
Anne E. Wignall ◽  
George W. Uetz
Keyword(s):  
Mating Success ◽  
Wolf Spiders ◽  
Schizocosa Ocreata

scholarly journals MATING IN THE ABSENCE OF VISUAL CUES BY SCHIZOCOSA OCREATA (HENTZ 1844) WOLF SPIDERS (ARANEAE, LYCOSIDAE)

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip W. Taylor ◽  
J. Andrew Roberts ◽  
George W. Uetz
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Wolf Spiders ◽  
Schizocosa Ocreata

Courtship behavior and coloration influence conspicuousness of wolf spiders (Schizocosa ocreata (Hentz)) to avian predators

2019 ◽  
Vol 162 ◽  
pp. 215-220
Author(s):  
Tricia L. Rubi ◽  
David L. Clark ◽  
Jonathan S. Keller ◽  
George W. Uetz
Keyword(s):  
Courtship Behavior ◽  
Wolf Spiders ◽  
Schizocosa Ocreata ◽  
Avian Predators

scholarly journals Ultraviolet signals fighting ability in a lizard

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Stapley ◽  
Martin J Whiting
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Fighting Ability ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
Contest Outcome ◽  
Rival Assessment ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Male Contests

Ultraviolet (UV) signals are used in female mate choice in numerous taxa; however, the role of UV signals in male contests remains relatively unexplored. We experimentally reduced throat UV of free-ranging lizards ( Platysaurus broadleyi ) to test whether UV acts as a signal of fighting ability during male contests. We found that UV-reduced males were more likely to be challenged than control males. However, contest outcome was not influenced by UV-reduction, and this was despite other obvious asymmetries between opponents, such as body size and residency. Throat UV was confirmed as a signal of fighting ability because contests were more likely to escalate when one contestant had reduced UV. Therefore, throat UV, not body size or residency, was used during the initial stage of opponent assessment, but this did not influence contest outcome. The results suggest that UV overrides other traits that could function as signals during rival assessment.

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