Presentation Details
Ontogeny of Prey Capture Behaviors in a Web-Building Spider

Madison Rittinger, Rafael Rodríguez.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA

Abstract


An animal’s behavior varies throughout ontogeny. Many of these changes can be attributed to learning, maturation, or how those processes interact with an individual’s genetics. Here we investigate the ontogeny of prey capture in Pholcus phalangioides spiders. Prior work has shown that prey capture in this species is an innate set of behaviors. Although these behaviors are innate, that does not exclude them from being modified throughout ontogeny. For our experiment, we reared spiderlings from multiple families in the lab; randomly assigned them a feeding treatment and an instar for testing; and quantified prey capture behaviors. Our treatments were designed to vary opportunities individuals could learn to improve their behaviors. By comparing behaviors across treatments, instars, and families we tested whether the ontogeny of predatory behaviors can be attributed to learning, maturation, and/or an individual’s genetics. Although there is ample information regarding how spiders capture prey, less is known about how these behaviors develop. The results from this experiment can illuminate how predatory behaviors change throughout development and which processes drive those changes.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
Content Locked. Log into a registered attendee account to access this presentation.