Observing web damage response variability in Zygiella x-notata

Abstract

The foraging success of orb-web spiders depends primarily on the structure and maintenance of their webs. The purpose of this study was to examine how the presence and degree of web damage affected web-building responses in Zygiella x-notata. Part 1 of the study investigated the severity of damage with: a control, a partial web damage group, and a complete web damage group. Part 2 investigated frequency of damage over a 5-day period with: a control group, an infrequent web damage group, and a frequent web damage group. Four spiders were allocated randomly to each experimental group, and four trials for each were conducted. Results suggested that spiders were unlikely to relocate, regardless of the type of web damage that occurred. Web sizes exhibited a decreasing trend for all experimental groups after web damage, except for controls and partial damage groups, with the largest decreases seen in frequent and complete damage groups. Anchor thread count increased after partial and complete damage; however, it decreased after damage in both repetitive web damage groups. Overall, these preliminary findings suggest that web-building spiders will likely rebuild instead of relocate in areas where damage occurs to their webs. When the damage is partial and non-repetitive, they expend more energy repairing and reinforcing their webs. However, when faced with repetitive and complete damage, their behavior is an adaptation to reduce the amount of energy expended in web repair.