Rearing environment affects behaviour of jumping spiders

We tested the effect of rearing conditions on the behaviour of jumping spiders, Phidippus audax. Spiders were assigned randomly to either small or large cages that either were empty or contained a painted dowel. Laboratory-reared spiders were raised from second instar to adult in these environments. Field-caught adults also were randomly assigned to these containers and were held for approximately 4 months prior to testing. We presented spiders with three tests designed to examine a range of behaviours. Field-caught spiders were more likely than laboratory-reared spiders to (1) react to videotaped prey, (2) progress further on a detour test, and (3) be less stereotactic and more active in an open field. Larger cage size and the presence of the dowel also improved performance in several tests. Our results suggest that the rearing conditions we used, which are commonly employed by behavioural researchers, may profoundly influence the behaviour of adult spiders. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.