Prey and predators perceive orb-web spider conspicuousness differently: evaluating alternative hypotheses for color...

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Animal Behavior

Background:

• Color polymorphisms are often explained by apostatic selection, where predators target common morphs.
• Perception of color is subjective and depends on the observer's visual system.
• Theoretical models suggest differing conspicuousness perceptions by predators and prey can drive polymorphism.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the evolutionary drivers of color polymorphism in the spider Gasteracantha cancriformis.
• To test the multiple prey, flower mimicry, and multiple predator hypotheses.
• To assess how different taxa perceive the conspicuousness of spider color morphs.

Main Methods:

• Collected reflectance data from G. cancriformis color morphs.
• Utilized color vision modeling to estimate chromatic and achromatic contrast.
• Evaluated morph conspicuousness from the perspective of various potential prey and predator taxa.

Main Results:

• Different taxa perceived the conspicuousness of spider morphs differently.
• The multiple prey hypothesis was supported.
• The multiple predator hypothesis was partially supported.
• The flower mimicry hypothesis was supported by color metrics but not by vision models.

Conclusions:

• Differential perception of conspicuousness by prey and predators likely maintains color polymorphism in G. cancriformis.
• The multiple prey and multiple predator hypotheses offer significant explanations for the observed polymorphism.
• Color vision models are crucial for understanding the ecological relevance of color patterns.