Personality predicts mode of attack in a generalist ground spider predator. (1st December 2022)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Personality predicts mode of attack in a generalist ground spider predator. (1st December 2022)
- Main Title:
- Personality predicts mode of attack in a generalist ground spider predator
- Authors:
- Beydizada, Narmin
Pekár, Stano - Editors:
- Dingemanse, Niels
- Abstract:
- Abstract: Personality traits, such as boldness and/or aggressiveness, have long been accepted to have a profound influence on many aspects of the lives of animals, including foraging. However, little is known about how personality traits shape the use of a particular attack strategy. Ground spiders use either venom or silk attack to immobilize prey. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that behavioral differences among individuals (namely boldness, measured as the time spent exploring a novel environment; and aggressiveness, measured as the number of killed but not consumed prey) drive the use of a particular attack strategy. We used a generalist ground spider, Drassodes lapidosus, and recorded the mode of attack on two types of prey, dangerous and safe. Moreover, we measured the size of the venom gland to test the relationship between the size of venom volume and the personality, as well as the mode of attack. Drassodes individuals showed consistent behavioral differences in the way they attacked prey. Venom attack was significantly related to increased aggressiveness when attacking spider (dangerous) prey and to increased boldness when attacking cricket (safe) prey. Silk attack was more frequently used by shy (for cricket prey) and docile (for spider prey). The volume of venom was not related to the attack strategy. We conclude that personality traits are important drivers of prey-capture behavior in generalist ground spiders. Abstract : Personality affects a wide rangeAbstract: Personality traits, such as boldness and/or aggressiveness, have long been accepted to have a profound influence on many aspects of the lives of animals, including foraging. However, little is known about how personality traits shape the use of a particular attack strategy. Ground spiders use either venom or silk attack to immobilize prey. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that behavioral differences among individuals (namely boldness, measured as the time spent exploring a novel environment; and aggressiveness, measured as the number of killed but not consumed prey) drive the use of a particular attack strategy. We used a generalist ground spider, Drassodes lapidosus, and recorded the mode of attack on two types of prey, dangerous and safe. Moreover, we measured the size of the venom gland to test the relationship between the size of venom volume and the personality, as well as the mode of attack. Drassodes individuals showed consistent behavioral differences in the way they attacked prey. Venom attack was significantly related to increased aggressiveness when attacking spider (dangerous) prey and to increased boldness when attacking cricket (safe) prey. Silk attack was more frequently used by shy (for cricket prey) and docile (for spider prey). The volume of venom was not related to the attack strategy. We conclude that personality traits are important drivers of prey-capture behavior in generalist ground spiders. Abstract : Personality affects a wide range of behaviours, including hunting. By using the spider model organism, we tested whether boldness and aggressiveness can modulate spider's choice of attack strategy (risky venom versus safe silk) using two different types of prey (dangerous and harmless) and whether the attack strategy is conditioned by amount of venom available. We show that, aggressiveness/boldness levels were associated with risky attack stratégy, however, it was not reflected in venom gland size. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Behavioral ecology. Volume 34:Number 1(2023)
- Journal:
- Behavioral ecology
- Issue:
- Volume 34:Number 1(2023)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 34, Issue 1 (2023)
- Year:
- 2023
- Volume:
- 34
- Issue:
- 1
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2023-0034-0001-0000
- Page Start:
- 42
- Page End:
- 49
- Publication Date:
- 2022-12-01
- Subjects:
- aggressiveness -- attack strategy -- behavioral syndrome -- boldness -- Drassodes -- venom gland
Animal behavior -- Periodicals
Behavior evolution -- Periodicals
Ecology -- Periodicals
Psychology, Comparative -- Periodicals
591.5 - Journal URLs:
- http://beheco.oupjournals.org ↗
http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org ↗
http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/ ↗
http://firstsearch.oclc.org ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1093/beheco/arac095 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 1045-2249
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 1877.390000
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 25686.xml