Presentation Details
| Diurnal Foraging in a Nocturnal Predator, the Ogre-faced Spider Jay A.Stafstrom1, Eileen A.Hebets2, Ronald R.Hoy3. 1Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.2University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA.3Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA |
Abstract
The enhancement of a sensory system to perform well in a specific niche may come at the cost of performance in other niches. For example, nocturnal animals with visual systems adapted for dim light environments may struggle to perform well in bright day light. A textbook example of this is the ogre-faced spider (Asianopis subrufa), a nocturnal predator with the largest eyes of any spider, where early studies first describe their retinas being destroyed at sunrise, only to be resynthesized every night. Unsurprisingly, the ogre-faced spider has been a posterchild for visually mediated nocturnal behavior. Here, contrary to foundational work, we show present-day A. subrufua are facultatively diurnal in foraging behavior. Here, we show the effects of diet and lighting environment on the propensity for A. subrufa to forage during the day. Next, we compare physiological and behavioral thresholds of predatory behavior between diurnally and nocturnally active spiders. Taken together, we present a foundational understanding of the causes and consequences of this shift away from strict nocturnality to facultatively diurnal behavior and sensory ecology.
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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.
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