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Wind speed affects prey-catching behaviour in an orb web spider.
Joe Turner1, Fritz Vollrath, Thomas Hesselberg
1Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK, OX1 3PS.
Die Naturwissenschaften
|October 14, 2011
Summary
Windy conditions slow down spider predation. Spiders move slower, and prey escape faster, reducing capture success and overall hunting efficiency in higher winds.
Area of Science:
- Animal behavior
- Ecology
- Arachnology
Background:
- Wind influences spider web site selection, orientation, geometry, and material composition.
- Previous research indicates environmental factors affect spider web construction and placement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of wind speed on the prey-catching behavior of the orb-web spider, Araneus diadematus.
- To determine if wind affects spider movement and prey escape dynamics within the web.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a small wind tunnel to generate controlled wind speeds.
- Observed and recorded the behavior of Araneus diadematus when encountering entangled prey (Drosophila melanogaster) under varying wind conditions.
Main Results:
- Spiders exhibited slower movement towards prey in windy conditions.
- Entangled prey escaped the web in less time at higher wind speeds.
- These factors collectively indicate a reduced capture probability and diminished predation efficiency for spiders under increased wind.
Conclusions:
- Wind significantly impacts not only web structure but also the dynamic prey-capture behavior of spiders.
- The observed decrease in predation efficiency suggests that spiders' web-removal behavior in high winds may be a strategy to mitigate reduced hunting success, not solely to prevent web damage.
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