Download or read book Trait Evolution in Spiders written by Jennifer Marie Bosco and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Organisms have evolved complex behavioral, morphological and physiological traits in response to various selection pressures. These phenotypes are usually composed of many traits that may or may not be genetically or phenotypically correlated. Correlations of both types can lead to evolutionary trade-offs, which may be broken over long evolutionary time periods through such mechanisms as the decoupling of genetic linkages and the development of phenotypic plasticity. Behavioral traits associated with temperament provide an excellent system in which to evaluate underlying mechanisms of the establishment and decoupling of genetic linkages. Other traits, such as the type of web that a spider builds, may not be so labile since there is greater complexity associated with, for example, web spinning organs and prey specialization. I initiated my investigation into these questions by examining the extent to which behavioral traits and their correlations change over ontogeny and how this varies between males and females of the grass spider Agelenopsis lisa (Chapter 1). I then considered how these behavioral traits change over macro-evolutionary time by using a dated phylogeny of 19 spider species of the RT3 spider clade (Chapter 2). Finally, I considered web evolution across all of spiders (Araneae) to examine how web type influences spider diversification (Chapter 3). My results indicate that behavioral traits are highly repeatable at certain life-stages, such as the penultimate stage in males that corresponds with increased prey consumption in preparation for searching for mates as an adult. While there are very few significant behavioral trait correlations that would suggest the presence of a behavioral syndrome, the weak correlations are consistent across ontogeny. Behavioral trait correlations are not conserved across macro-evolutionary time, suggesting that temperament traits are likely free to evolve independently from other behavioral traits. Several of the traits examined are evolving towards phenotypic optima related to the habitat they reside in. However, some traits are particularly slow to evolve, which may result in maladaptive scenarios where species get "stuck" when the environment changes quickly. Finally, I found that weblessness is associated with higher diversification rates in spiders and reduced rates of diversification in orb weaving spiders.
Download or read book Spider Evolution written by Subir Ranjan Kundu and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2021-10-19 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spider Evolution: Genetics, Behavior, and Ecological Influences is a thorough exploration of the evolutionary trail of arachnids, particularly spider species, through prehistoric origins to current sustainability issues. This book analyzes extinct organisms in the Arachnida class, specifically looking at their phylogenomics and molecular footprints, to understand the evolutionary changes in the diversification in today's spider species. Beginning with an overview of spider species and their cultural significance, this book offers a detailed review of spider origins and their influences on behavioral traits, physiology of sensory organs, and biomechanics. It also touches upon spiders as prey as well as predators, and how these roles have changed in the 400 million years of Arachnida existence. The book then focuses upon current environmental issues facing spider species and how these have, and can, affect the evolution of these organisms; biodiversity minimization, climate change, and natural disasters are covered with consideration to a spider's changing physiology, habitat, and even aggressive behavior. Spider Evolution: Genetics, Behavior, and Ecological Influences is a much-needed resource for entomologists and arachnid- or arthropod-driven researchers. Advanced undergraduate and graduate students will also benefit from the historic review, current assessment, and future predictions of spider evolution provided in this book.
Download or read book Spider Evolution written by Subir Ranjan Kundu and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2021-10-14 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spider Evolution: Genetics, Behavior, and Ecological Influences provides a thorough exploration of the evolutionary trail of arachnids, particularly spider species, from prehistoric origins to current sustainability issues. This book analyzes extinct organisms in the Arachnida class, specifically looking at their phylogenomics and molecular footprints to understand evolutionary changes in diversification in today’s species. Sections cover spider origins and their influences on behavioral traits, physiology of sensory organs, and biomechanics, also touching on spiders as prey and predators and how their roles have changed in the 400 million years of Arachnida existence. The book then focuses upon current environmental issues facing spider species and how these have, and can, affect the evolution of these organisms. Topics include biodiversity minimization, climate change and natural disasters. This book is a much-needed resource for entomologists and arachnid- or arthropod-driven researchers. Advanced undergraduate and graduate students will also benefit from the historic review, current assessment and future predictions of spider evolution provided in this book. Provides a complete view of spider species from their first fossil evidence nearly 400 million years ago Focuses on climate change and biodiversity threats as environmental factors currently affecting these organisms Contains the most up-to-date knowledge on evolutionary genetics, physiology changes and behavioral outcomes
Download or read book Spider Research in the 21st Century written by David Penney and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The result is a great increase in multi-disciplinary research and novel avenues incorporating spiders as model organisms.
Download or read book Spider Webs written by William Eberhard and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2020-12-22 with total page 679 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this lavishly illustrated, first-ever book on how spider webs are built, function, and evolved, William Eberhard provides a comprehensive overview of spider functional morphology and behavior related to web building, and of the surprising physical agility and mental abilities of orb weavers. For instance, one spider spins more than three precisely spaced, morphologically complex spiral attachments per second for up to fifteen minutes at a time. Spiders even adjust the mechanical properties of their famously strong silken lines to different parts of their webs and different environments, and make dramatic modifications in orb designs to adapt to available spaces. This extensive adaptive flexibility, involving decisions influenced by up to sixteen different cues, is unexpected in such small, supposedly simple animals. As Eberhard reveals, the extraordinary diversity of webs includes ingenious solutions to gain access to prey in esoteric habitats, from blazing hot and shifting sand dunes (to capture ants) to the surfaces of tropical lakes (to capture water striders). Some webs are nets that are cast onto prey, while others form baskets into which the spider flicks prey. Some aerial webs are tramways used by spiders searching for chemical cues from their prey below, while others feature landing sites for flying insects and spiders where the spider then stalks its prey. In some webs, long trip lines are delicately sustained just above the ground by tiny rigid silk poles. Stemming from the author’s more than five decades observing spider webs, this book will be the definitive reference for years to come.
Download or read book Ecophysiology of Spiders written by Wolfgang Nentwig and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recently another book on insect physiology was published. It was restricted to a few focal points as are many of these new insect physiology books, but there was considerable depth in its specialized point of view. We were dis cussing the structure of this book and of insect physiology books, in general, when Prof. Remmert asked me " . . . and what about books on spider physio logy?" Silence. Then I started to explain "oh yes, there is a congress pro ceedings volume on this topic and there is a group with excellent publica tions on another topic . . . ", but I felt that this answer was weak. One can no longer buy the proceedings volume in a bookshop and to read a series of publications on a given topic one must search in a library for a dozen journals. Why is there not a single book on spider physiology comparable with the many books on insect physiology? Are spiders a scientific ivory tower, far from public interest and commercial importance? I do not think so, although spiders are one of the many "forgotten" animal groups which always grew in the shadow of the insects. There are research groups working on spider physiology, there are fascinating phenomena in this animal group and there are plenty of exciting results. Spiders may have been always underresearch ed, but research is progressing. In the last few years, new books have been published, e. g.
Download or read book Spider Venoms written by P. Gopalakrishnakone and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-05-10 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, the field of Toxinology has expanded substantially. On the one hand it studies venomous animals, plants and micro organisms in detail to understand their mode of action on targets. While on the other, it explores the biochemical composition, genomics and proteomics of toxins and venoms to understand their three interaction with life forms (especially humans), development of antidotes and exploring their pharmacological potential. Therefore, Toxinology has deep linkages with biochemistry, molecular biology, anatomy and pharmacology. In addition, there is a fast developing applied subfield, clinical toxinology, which deals with understanding and managing medical effects of toxins on human body. Given the huge impact of toxin-based deaths globally, and the potential of venom in generation of drugs for so-far incurable diseases (for example, Diabetes, Chronic Pain), the continued research and growth of the field is imminent. This has led to the growth of research in the area and the consequent scholarly output by way of publications in journals and books. Despite this ever growing body of literature within biomedical sciences, there is still no all-inclusive reference work available that collects all of the important biochemical, biomedical and clinical insights relating to Toxinology. The Handbook of Toxinology aims to address this gap and cover the field of Toxinology comprehensively.
Download or read book Spider Silk written by Leslie Brunetta and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2010-06-08 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spiders, objects of eternal human fascination, are found in many places: on the ground, in the air, and even under water. Leslie Brunetta and Catherine Craig have teamed up to produce a substantive yet entertaining book for anyone who has ever wondered, as a spider rappelled out of reach on a line of silk, “How do they do that?” The orb web, that iconic wheel-shaped web most of us associate with spiders, contains at least four different silk proteins, each performing a different function and all meshing together to create a fly-catching machine that has amazed and inspired humans through the ages. Brunetta and Craig tell the intriguing story of how spiders evolved over 400 million years to add new silks and new uses for silk to their survival “toolkit” and, in the telling, take readers far beyond the orb. The authors describe the trials and triumphs of spiders as they use silk to negotiate an ever-changing environment, and they show how natural selection acts at the genetic level and as individuals struggle for survival.
Download or read book Fossil Spiders written by David Penney and published by Siri Scientific Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Compared to insects, fossil spiders have received only scant attention in the literature. Previously, the only works available were numerous scientific papers, many published in foreign languages. Most of these are basic descriptive taxonomic works, with very few considering broader biological concepts. Despite a significant increase in the discovery and description of fossil spiders within the last quarter Century this void remained unfilled. Thus, this short monograph aims to achieve several objectives. Firstly, to provide general and up to date background information on the overall importance and diversity of fossils spiders, including an indication of those groups for which the taxonomy is spurious and in need of reassessment. Secondly, to discuss the techniques available for working with fossil spiders and some of the problems encountered by palaeoarachnologists, including bias and limitations of the spider fossil record. Thirdly, the overall evolutionary history of spiders is summarized in the form of an evolutionary tree, which is subsequently used to address key issues of broad interest, such as origins, diversifications and extinctions, including the effects of mass extinctions and predator-prey co-radiations. Finally, the contribution that fossil data can make to understanding the past and present biogeography of the order is considered. This book should be of interest to both amateur and professional arachnologists and palaeontologists and will also serve as a general palaeontological reference work for neonologists studying extant spiders.
Download or read book Spiderwebs and Silk written by Catherine L. Craig and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2003-08-21 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book links the molecular evolution of silk proteins to the evolution and behavioral ecology of web-spinning spiders and other arthropods. Craig's book draws together studies from biochemistry through molecular genetics, cellular physiology, ecology, and behavior to present an integrated understanding of an interesting biological system at the molecular and organizational levels.
Download or read book The Biology of Camel Spiders written by Fred Punzo and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: My initial interest in the Solifugae (camel-spiders) stems from an incident that occurred in the summer of 1986. I was studying the behavioral ecology of spider wasps of the genus Pepsis and their interactions with their large theraphosid (tarantula) spider hosts, in the Chihuahuan Desert near Big Bend National Park, Texas. I was monitoring a particular tarantula burrow one night when I noticed the resident female crawl up into the burrow entrance. Hoping to take some photographs of prey capture, I placed a cricket near the entrance and waited for the spider to pounce. Suddenly, out of the comer of my eye appeared a large, rapidly moving yellowish form which siezed the cricket and quickly ran off with it until it disappeared beneath a nearby mesquite bush. So suddenly and quickly had the sequence of events occurred, that I found myself momentarily startled. With the aid of a headlamp I soon located the intruder, a solifuge, who was already busy at work macerating the insect with its large chelicerae (jaws). When I attempted to nudge it with the edge of my forceps, it quickly moved to another location beneath the bush. When I repeated this maneuver, the solifuge dropped the cricket and lunged at the forceps, gripping them tightly in its jaws, refusing to release them until they were forcefully pulled away.
Download or read book Dwarf Spider Species Diversity Phylogeny and the Evolution of Sexually Selected Traits written by Shou-Wang Lin and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Systematics and Behavioral Evolution of Spider Wasps Hymenoptera Pompilidae written by Cecilia Waichert Monteiro and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major area of investigation in evolutionary biology is the evolution of complex traits. The number of states, the order in which they arise, and the number of times a trait has evolved interest evolutionary biologists. Such studies are only made possible by reconstructing phylogenies in the context of the taxa. Biological investigations rely on accurate species designations and delimitations, and lack of well-defined taxonomic groups impedes scientific progress. Pompilidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera), popularly known as spider wasps, are predatory insects that provision their offspring with spiders as the sole food source. Adult female wasps attack spiders and paralyze them with venom, then place them in simple nests that are usually dug in the soil. Spider wasps form a large and cosmopolitan family with nearly 5,000 described species. Although all Pompilidae have similar biology, there is considerable variation in the nest construction and provisioning behavior; thus, this family could be useful for understanding the evolution of complex behavior. My study aims to evaluate and solve several taxonomic conflicts in spider wasps by reconstructing the complex evolution of behavioral patterns using a molecular phylogenetic framework. Early stages of sociality are found in spider wasps, such as communalism (females of same generation nesting together). My ultimate goal was to study the evolution of communalism in these wasps. I reconstructed relationships at the subfamily and tribal levels for the family, as well as generic and specific levels for pre-defined lineages using five nuclear markers (28S, EF, Pol2, LWRh, Wg), one mitochondrial marker (COI), and morphological characters. These studies comprise the first attempt to revise generic, tribal, and species delimitations for spider wasps, based on robust molecular evolutionary trees. Finally, by studying early stages of social evolution, my results will provide for a better understanding the evolution of social behavior in Hymenoptera as a whole.
Download or read book Spider Behaviour written by Marie Elisabeth Herberstein and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-01-27 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spiders are often underestimated as suitable behavioural models because of the general belief that due to their small brains their behaviour is innate and mostly invariable. Challenging this assumption, this fascinating book shows that rather than having a limited behavioural repertoire, spiders show surprising cognitive abilities, changing their behaviour to suit their situational needs. The team of authors unravels the considerable intra-specific as well as intra-individual variability and plasticity in different behaviours ranging from foraging and web building to communication and courtship. An introductory chapter on spider biology, systematics and evolution provides the reader with the necessary background information to understand the discussed behaviours and helps to place them into an evolutionary context. Highlighting an under-explored area of behaviour, this book will provide new ideas for behavioural researchers and students unfamiliar with spiders as well as a valuable resource for those already working in this intriguing field.
Download or read book Behaviour and Ecology of Spiders written by Carmen Viera and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-11-02 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Within the last few decades, arachnology in the Neotropical region has experienced a great development filling the knowledge gap in one of the most diverse regions of the world. Nevertheless, large geographical areas remain poorly sampled, especially within the Amazon, and new genera and species have been continuously discovered, even in urban areas. In congruence with the recent improvements in research, several aspects of the ecology, behaviour and natural history of spiders, such as interactions with other predators and parasitoids, social interactions, dispersal patterns, habitat requirements, mating behaviors, among others, are being carefully investigated. These recent contributions incorporate substantial information on the preexisting knowledge on these subjects every year. Our main objective with this book is to present a summary on these new researches and on the currently knowledge on the main subjects involved in the general theme, emphasizing the contribution of the rich fauna of the Neotropical region to the research of behaviour and ecology of the spiders.
Download or read book Handbook of Trait Based Ecology written by Francesco de Bello and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-03-11 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trait-based ecology is rapidly expanding. This comprehensive and accessible guide covers the main concepts and tools in functional ecology.
Download or read book Phenotypic Integration written by Massimo Pigliucci and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2004 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The interface of evolution and development has attracted the attention of evolutionary and developmental biologists, geneticists, and organismal biologists. Pigliucci (ecology, evolutionary biology, University of Tennessee) and Preston (botany, Standford University) bring together work by experts in the field of phenotype integration, shedding ligh.
