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Vibratory communication in the wolf spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata (Araneae, Lycosidae)

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... These organs have likely evolved for prey detection, as most spiders use vibration in the predation processdeither through silk threads on webs or through environmental surfaces such as leaves, plant stems, and even water surfaces (Barth, 1982(Barth, , 1985(Barth, , 2002Hergenroder & Barth, 1983;Hoffmaster, 1982;Klarner & Barth, 1982;Landolfa & Barth, 1996;Masters & Markl, 1981;Roland & Rovner, 1983). Perhaps as a consequence, vibratory communication is common in spiders (Virant-Doberlet, King, Polanjnar, & Symondson, 2011) taking the form of web-plucking, percussive sound production, substratum-coupled stridulation, or body vibration/tremulation, typically in the context of male courtship (Barth, 1993;Cocroft & Rodriguez, 2005;Hill, 2008Hill, , 2009Kronestedt, 1996;Maklakov, Bilde, & Lubin, 2003;Quirici & Costa, 2005;Rovner, 1967Rovner, , 1975Rovner, , 1980Rovner & Barth, 1981;Uetz & Stratton, 1982). Presumably, vibratory communication has evolved as a means of distinguishing vibrations of potential prey from conspecific mates (Barth, 1993(Barth, , 2002Vibert, Scott, & Gries, 2014;Virant-Doberlet et al., 2011), but it is also clear that in addition to species identity, vibratory signals may stimulate female arousal (Maklakov et al., 2003), reduce female aggression (Wignall & Herberstein, 2013a, 2013b, and contain information about male quality (Gibson & Uetz, 2012;. ...
... Most wolf spiders (Family Lycosidae) use some form of vibration in communication, although some species combine vibratory signals with visual displays and chemical communication (Kronestedt, 1996;Rovner, 1967Rovner, , 1975Stratton & Uetz, 1981Uetz & Stratton, 1982). In another well-studied species, the European wolf spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata, females choose males on the basis of signaling (percussive drumming) rates, which are a good predictor of viability (Ahtiainen et al., 2001;Kotiaho, 2000;Parri, Alatalo, Kotiaho, & Mappes, 1997). ...
Article
Communication is critical for spiders, as they are predatory and potentially cannibalistic and thereby positioned uniquely at the intersection of sexual and natural selection. Perhaps as a consequence, spiders exhibit a great diversity of communication behaviors. Spiders communicate using several sensory modes (vibratory, chemical, and visual) in multiple contexts. The subject of communication in spiders has been of growing interest to animal behaviorists and evolutionary biologists in recent decades, and despite an overall dearth of information, several recent reviews have stimulated new research. In this review, we briefly examine production, reception, and information content of spider signals and the various contexts in which communication occurs. We will then focus on wolf spiders, as they are among the best studied, and highlight some more detailed examples from our own work with video and vibratory playback experiments on Schizocosa ocreata (Hentz) as well as some other well-studied species.
... Male distribution is highly patchy in these habitats and males prefer elevated habitats with abundant dry leaf litter cover . In the mating season, H. rubrofasciata males court females using percussive displays where males drum their abdomens against the leaf litter substrate (Kronestedt, 1996). Male drumming is intense and comes with significant metabolic costs and is considered an honest indicator of quality as drum rate is condition dependent , Rivero et al., 2000. ...
... In addition, signalling comes with significant immunological (Ahtiainen et al., 2005 and viability costs (Kotiaho et al., , 1999. Females signal willingness to mate by tremulation ('body shakes' in Kronestedt, 1996) and choose males based on drumming rate which is highly repeatable within males but highly variable between males , Parri et al., 1997, Rivero et al., 2000. Signal frequency, however, is highly variable within and between males (Kotiaho et al., 1999, Rivero et al., 2000. ...
Chapter
A spider's life is guided by sensory information completely alien to human observers unless specialised equipment is applied. Even in the case of spiders guided by vision, a sensory mode that humans can boast great acuity in, a large body of evidence suggests that spiders are most sensitive to ultraviolet light, light completely imperceptible to humans. The spider's world is thus unknown and only in the last two decades have researchers begun to make strides into understanding these fascinating creatures. Communication research has been a critical piece of the puzzle in our embryonic understanding of spiders. Although spiders generally live a solitary life, it has long been accepted that communication plays an important role throughout their lifetime. Spiders are now the subjects of intensive scientific research as it becomes more and more obvious that their communication systems are unique, highly complex, plastic and versatile. Introduction. Generally, communication takes place when a signal is sent from one individual to another that alters the pattern of behaviour or the physiology in another organism (Wilson, 1975). Three processes are required for communication: the production of a signal or cue by a sender, its propagation through the environment via a transmission channel, and appropriate receptor sites to detect the signal by the receiver. The transmission channels used by spiders are chemical, tactile, acoustic and visual channels (Weygoldt, 1977, Witt and Rovner, 1982).
... On the contrary, it presents the typical characters of the subfamily Lycosinae and, particularly, of the genus Lycosa (Zyuzin & Logunov 2000). Kronestedt (1996) described slightly different characteristics in the corresponding structure of male Hygrolycosa pedipalps. The main differences concerned the direction of the grooves in the file and the shape of the scraper. ...
... This apparent inconsistency might agree with Rovner's (1975) and Kronestedt's (1996) expectations concerning the apomorphic nature of the stridulatory-like structures at a supraspecific level. First, we found no stridulatory-like structure in any of the representatives of two other lycosid subfamilies (Allocosinae and Sosippinae), nor has it ever been described in any other spider family. ...
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In males of several Uruguayan lycosid species of the genera Lycosa, Schizocosa, Aglaoctenus and Allocosa, we used Scanning Electron Microscopy to investigate the existence and the morphology of pedipalpal stridulatory-like structures. These kinds of structures only appeared in species belonging to the subfamily Lycosinae, and representatives of the Allocosinae and Sosippinae subfamilies lacked them altogether. Unlike European Lycosa species, all surveyed Uruguayan species of the genus Lycosa presented the character to some extent, but interspecific differences occurred in the relative size and development of the structure. Lycosa thorelli, L. carbonelli and Lycosa sp. showed a very well developed pedipalpal structure, which was smaller in Lycosa poliostoma. Schizocosa malitiosa also exhibited an only partially developed structure. A possible role of these pedipalpal stridulatory-like structures in lycosid systematics is discussed.
... Because vibrational signals may be costly to produce and correlate with immune competence (Ahtiainen et al., 2004), male longevity or offspring viability (Hoefler et al., 2009), they are considered to be reliable indicators of male quality and they are strongly associated to female mate preferences Rivero et al. 2000;Ahtiainen et al., 2004;Wignall et al. 2014). For instance, females of the wolf spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata choose mates based on the percussive "drumming" display of males (Kronestedt, 1996;Parri et al. 1997). Moreover, a recent study (Eberhard et al., 2020) shows that males of the spider Pisaura mirabilis that produced more and continuous vibrational courtship signals were more likely to be accepted for copulation by females. ...
Article
Body size, nuptial gift characteristics and courtship behaviour, among other traits, can reflect the quality of a potential mate and, thus, might be under sexual selection. To maximize their mating success, individuals can show behavioural plasticity in sexual context. Allocosa senex is a burrow-digging wolf spider that exhibits reversal courtship roles and in sexual size-dimorphism expected for spiders. Males construct the mating refuge and females prefer males that build longer burrows, which are considered as nuptial gifts because they are delivered to them after mating. This study aims to determine whether male body size and female reproductive status influence burrow dimensions, courtship displays, female preferences and cannibalism rate in A. senex. For that purpose, we allowed males to construct burrows and performed sexual trials under laboratory conditions. Larger males were more courted by females, and in turn, they expressed more vibratory behaviours during courtship. However, and contrary to our expectations, smaller males constructed longer burrows. We suggest that males of A. senex exhibit size-dependent behavioural plasticity, and when they are smaller, they invest more in burrow construction to compensate their lower opportunities of courting intensively as larger males. In addition, females courted differentially according to their reproductive status, overriding male preferences for virgin females. This study opens several doors to future research regarding mutual choice in A. senex and the traits assessed by males and females during courtship, as well as about the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors shaping reproductive decision-making in this and other wandering spider species.
... This element was observed in A. solitaria (striatipes/fabrilis group) and has also been described in other wolf spider genera (e.g. Kronestedt, 1996;; however, more behavioural data and a broader understanding of wolf spider phylogeny are needed to assess whether this element evolved repeatedly or represents a plesiomorphic state. ...
Article
Species-specific patterns of courtship behaviour are often used in wolf spider species delimitation. However, differences in courtship patterns are rarely assessed in an evolutionary context. The wolf spider genus Alopecosa comprises 150 species, for which the distribution and mating periods commonly overlap. We analysed the courtship and copulatory behaviour of 14 European Alopecosa species that are traditionally classified into four sibling species complexes (groups) and sequenced one mitochondrial (COI) and two nuclear genes (28S, H3) to reconstruct their phylogenetic relationships. The courtship behaviour of Alopecosa wolf spiders includes 17 elements, involving palpal, pedal, opisthosomal and whole-body movements. The observed courtship and copulation behaviours exhibit both conserved elements and species-specific combinations of traits. The results of the phylogenetic analyses were largely incongruent with the traditional, morphology-based grouping. Species from the 'pulverulenta' group formed a monophylum, although members of the 'striatipes' and 'fabrilis' groups were recovered as para-or polyphyletic. Furthermore, monophyly of Alopecosa was not recovered. We provide a checklist of species-specific traits presented during courtship and copulation that can be used to identify sibling species complexes.
... Photos with SEM (Figs 19-23) highlight striking differences in the length and the shape of the ventral hairs. As previously observed (Kronestedt 1996, modified hairs ventrally on the opisthosoma are found in other lycosid species in which the opisthosoma hits the substrate during courtship. Thus, the modified hairs present in P. proxima may be associated with a similar behaviour in this species. ...
Article
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Morphological descriptions of P. proxima (C. L. Koch, 1847) (= P. vlijmi den Hollander & Dijkstra, 1974, syn. nov.) and its sister species P. tenuipes L. Koch, 1882 (= P. proxima auct.), a pair of species hardly distinguishable on a morphological basis but easily separable through behavioural characters, are given. The identification on an ethological basis allowed us to study the morphology of the males and to point out the morphological characteristics that can be used to discriminate the two species. Moreover, the examination of type material of Pardosa proxima and P. tenuipes, together with details given in the original descriptions, led us to conclude that P. vlijmi is a junior synonym of P. proxima and that P. tenuipes has been long overlooked. However, females remain hard to distinguish due to high intraspecific variability in the shape of the epigyne, vulva and habitus. According to the examination of material from different parts of Europe, P. proxima seems to be quite common in Italy and in the south of the Balkan Peninsula (mainly Greece and Bulgaria) while P. tenuipes is more widely distributed in western Europe, reaching central Europe. Contact zones between the two species were found in northwestern Italy and France. Far from detailing the precise distribution of the two species, we suggest that material previously identified as “Pardosa proxima” should be checked for establishing the occurrence of one or both species in different countries.
... The possibility of cannibalism in spiders places males at an intersection of natural and sexual selection, placing a high stress on effective communication, often resulting in complex courtship behaviors (Herberstein, 2004;Witt & Rovner, 1982). This communication also frequently occurs across multiple modalities, as numerous spider species have been shown to actively utilize chemical cues (Gaskett, 2007;Schulz, 2004;Schulz, 2013), vibratory cues (Barth, 2004;Cocroft & Rodriguez, 2005;Elias, Hebets, Hoy, & Mason, 2005;Elias, Sivalinghem, Mason, Andrade, & Kasumovic, 2010;Gibson & Uetz, 2008;Kronestedt, 1996;Masters & Markl, 1981;Rovner, 1975) and visual cues Elias, Land, Mason, & Hoy, 2006;McClintock & Uetz, 1996;. There is also evidence that several species use several of these modalities concurrently, with males producing multimodal signals that are evaluated by females (Hebets & Uetz, 1999;Uetz, Clark, & Roberts, 2016;Uetz & Roberts, 2002;Uetz, Roberts, Clark, Gibson, & Gordon, 2013;Uetz, Roberts, & Taylor, 2009). ...
Article
Studies of sexual selection in animal systems frequently use courtship and receptivity behaviors as metrics for mating success, and this is generally built upon data associating such behaviors with mating. Spider systems are becoming increasingly popular in sexual selection research, and the wolf spider Gladicosa gulosa has the potential to help answer unique questions in animal communication. However, this species is understudied, and no quantitative data exist that demonstrate which male and female behaviors may be indicators of mating success. We paired male and female G. gulosa and recorded the behaviors involved in their courtship and mating. We found a number of significant behaviors from both males and females, and we suggest which behaviors/variables are perhaps most predictive of mating success. Beyond building a data-based foundation for future work, we also suggest that the relationship of certain male and female variables may shed light on some of the more unique features of this species.
... To our knowledge, only two species have been described as "audible" at a substantial distance from the focal spider. The European drumming spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata has been documented as having a substantial airborne sound associated with the drumming behaviour inherent to its substrate-borne communication (Kronestedt 1996). Females of this species appear to respond to both forms of the signal (Parri et al. 2002) and the percussive signal has been extensively studied in connection with female preference (Parri et al. 1997(Parri et al. , 2002, male quality and viability (Kotiaho et al. , 1998(Kotiaho et al. , 1999Mappes et al. 1996;Rivero et al. 2000) and the evolution of chorusing behaviour (Kotiaho et al. 2004). ...
Article
Full-text available
Both airborne acoustic signals and substrate-borne vibrations are prevalent modes of animal communication, particularly in arthropods. While a wide variety of animals utilize one or both of these modalities, the connection between them is still ambiguous in many species. Spiders as a group are not known for using, or even perceiving, acoustic signals, despite being well-adapted for vibratory communication. Males of the “purring” wolf spider Gladicosa gulosa are reported to produce audible signals during courtship, although the literature on this species is largely anecdotal. Using a laser Doppler vibrometer and an omnidirectional microphone in controlled conditions, we recorded and characterized the visual and mechanical (both substrate-borne and airborne) signals of this species in an attempt to provide a qualitative and quantitative overview of its signal properties. We found that the vibratory signal is composed of two primary repeating and alternating elements, consisting of pulses of stridulation and percussive strikes, as well as a less common, but repeatable, third element. We also characterized a measurable airborne component to the signal that is significantly correlated with the amplitude of the vibratory signal, which we suggest is a by-product of the strong vibration. Neither modality correlated significantly with male body size or condition. Although the exact role of the acoustic component is unclear, we speculate that the unique properties of signalling in this species may have value in answering new questions about animal communication.
... To our knowledge, only two species have been described as "audible" at a substantial distance from the focal spider. The European drumming spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata has been documented as having a substantial airborne sound associated with the drumming behaviour inherent to its substrate-borne communication (Kronestedt 1996). Females of this species appear to respond to both forms of the signal (Parri et al. 2002) and the percussive signal has been extensively studied in connection with female preference (Parri et al. 1997(Parri et al. , 2002, male quality and viability (Kotiaho et al. , 1998(Kotiaho et al. , 1999Mappes et al. 1996;Rivero et al. 2000) and the evolution of chorusing behaviour (Kotiaho et al. 2004). ...
Article
Full-text available
Vibration is an important part of the sensory world in spiders, and many species have adapted vibration as a major part of their conspecific communication. While nearly all male wolf spiders produce vibrations during courtship, the “purring” wolf spider, Gladicosa gulosa, also produces an acoustic signal in conjunction with its vibratory display. However, with limited previous research on this species, the evolutionary significance of this component remains unknown. Given that spiders are not known to possess sensory structures for directly perceiving airborne sound, this raises a number of questions about the production, reception, and possible role of the signal. We measured male signal production and male/female responses to isolated acoustic signals on both vibrating (paper) and non-vibrating (granite) substrates. We found that male signals, both vibratory and acoustic, are only present in vibrating substrates. We also found significant differences in phonotaxis based on sex of the focal individual, stimulus type, and substrate type. These results suggest that the substrate plays an important role in both production and reception of the acoustic signal, and that under certain conditions, acoustic signaling may have a role in the communication network in this species.
... In contrast, in a majority of orthopteran species, stationary males emit continuous songs and silent females approach signalling males (Robinson and Hall 2002). The sexual communication system of A. makarovi closely resembles that of H. rubrofasciata (Kronestedt 1996;Parri et al. 1997Parri et al. , 2002 in which males with higher drumming activity suffer higher mortality (Mappes et al. 1996;Kotiaho 2000). ...
Article
Communication via substrate-borne vibrations is the most widespread form of acoustic communication in arthropods. However, remarkably little is known about physiological sources of selection on vibrational communication systems, in particular those underlying mate choice and male competition. Here, we studied the energetic cost of vibrational signalling in the leafhopper Aphrodes makarovi (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae). We measured O2 consumption of a single male for 15–30 min using the closed-bottle method and a lifetime-based optode, while we recorded emitted vibrational signals with a laser vibrometer. Males were emitting three types of vibrational signals (advertisement calls, masking signals and pulse signals), and the respiration rate was significantly positively correlated with the cumulative signalling time. Our results showed that vibrational signalling was around 12.4 times energetically more demanding than resting. Furthermore, production of masking signals emitted in rivalry situations was as energetically demanding as production of advertisement calls used in sexual communication between partners. We also assessed the effect of calling effort on male survival. We determined calling effort by playback experiments once every week of male’s adult life until death. The average male longevity was 50 days, and survival was negatively correlated with the number of emitted advertisement calls, calling rate and calling time in early life. Considering that in mating systems based on vibrational signals, communication occurs in a changing social environment, more detailed studies on indirect costs of signalling in such systems may provide new insights into mechanisms that lead to adaptive plasticity in male sexual behaviour.
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