Prey Interception Research Articles

Individual diet specialization in the spider Tidarren haemorrhoidale (Bertkau, 1880) (Theridiidae)

AbstractIndividual specialization (IS) in resource use is common within populations of several animal species because some individuals can be more efficient than others in obtaining specific food items. Spiders are usually classified as euryphagous predators, but the broad diet of populations may result from many individuals specializing in capturing different types of prey. Empirical evidence supporting this pattern, however, is still scarce. In this study, we hypothesized that (1) the diet of individuals of Tidarren haemorrhoidale is more restricted than the population's diet and (2) individual diet restrictions are not determined by the spatial distribution of prey types. We collected the prey remains of 74 webs of females in a conservation area of the Atlantic Forest. Our results indicated that T. haemorrhoidale could be considered a euryphagous predator because its diet comprised Opiliones, Diplopoda, and eight orders of insects. However, spiders exhibited moderate and high degrees of IS for prey size and taxa, respectively. There was no modularity for both prey attributes in the food web, but there was a medium nestedness. Most individuals captured ants, but additional prey taxa were of different orders. There was no correlation between the dissimilarity of prey taxa and the distances between the webs, suggesting that IS did not occur based on the spatial distribution of their potential prey. The diversity of prey defensive strategies may induce spiders to perform specific behavioral routines after prey interception. If this occurs, cognitive constraints may limit their ability to use different capture routines efficiently. Our study supports the predictions of individual niche specialization theory for a euryphagous spider species and highlights the potential of spiders as a study model to investigate the underlying mechanisms.

Predatory behavior under monocular and binocular conditions in the semiterrestrial crab Neohelice granulata.

Neohelice granulata crabs live in mudflats where they prey upon smaller crabs. Predatory behavior can be elicited in the laboratory by a dummy moving at ground level in an artificial arena. Previous research found that crabs do not use apparent dummy size nor its retinal speed as a criterion to initiate attacks, relying instead on actual size and distance to the target. To estimate the distance to an object on the ground, Neohelice could rely on angular declination below the horizon or, since they are broad-fronted with eye stalks far apart, on stereopsis. Unlike other animals, binocular vision does not widen the visual field of crabs since they already cover 360° monocularly. There exist nonetheless areas of the eye with increased resolution. We tested how predatory responses towards the dummy changed when animals' vision was monocular (one eye occluded by opaque black paint) compared to binocular. Even though monocular crabs could still perform predatory behaviors, we found a steep reduction in the number of attacks. Predatory performance defined by the probability of completing the attacks and the success rate (the probability of making contact with the dummy once the attack was initiated) was impaired too. Monocular crabs tended to use frontal, ballistic jumps (lunge behavior) less, and the accuracy of those attacks was reduced. Monocular crabs used prey interception (moving toward the dummy while it approached the crab) more frequently, favoring attacks when the dummy was ipsilateral to the viewing eye. Instead, binocular crabs' responses were balanced in the right and left hemifields. Both groups mainly approached the dummy using the lateral field of view, securing speed of response. Although two eyes are not strictly necessary for eliciting predatory responses, binocularity is associated with more frequent and precise attacks.

Adaptive echolocation behavior of bats and toothed whales in dynamic soundscapes.

Journal of Experimental Biology has a long history of reporting research discoveries on animal echolocation, the subject of this Centenary Review. Echolocating animals emit intense sound pulses and process echoes to localize objects in dynamic soundscapes. More than 1100 species of bats and 70 species of toothed whales rely on echolocation to operate in aerial and aquatic environments, respectively. The need to mitigate acoustic clutter and ambient noise is common to both aerial and aquatic echolocating animals, resulting in convergence of many echolocation features, such as directional sound emission and hearing, and decreased pulse intervals and sound intensity during target approach. The physics of sound transmission in air and underwater constrains the production, detection and localization of sonar signals, resulting in differences in response times to initiate prey interception by aerial and aquatic echolocating animals. Anti-predator behavioral responses of prey pursued by echolocating animals affect behavioral foraging strategies in air and underwater. For example, many insect prey can detect and react to bat echolocation sounds, whereas most fish and squid are unresponsive to toothed whale signals, but can instead sense water movements generated by an approaching predator. These differences have implications for how bats and toothed whales hunt using echolocation. Here, we consider the behaviors used by echolocating mammals to (1) track and intercept moving prey equipped with predator detectors, (2) interrogate dynamic sonar scenes and (3) exploit visual and passive acoustic stimuli. Similarities and differences in animal sonar behaviors underwater and in air point to open research questions that are ripe for exploration.

Captivating color: evidence for optimal stimulus design in a polymorphic prey lure

Abstract Many species – humans included – employ color as an instrument of deception. One intriguing example of this resides in the conspicuous abstract color patterns displayed on the bodies of female orb weaving spiders. These displays increase prey interception rates and thereby function at least as visual lures. Their chromatic properties however vary extensively, both across and within species, with discrete forms often co-existing in the manner of a stable polymorphism. Variation is principally expressed in terms of signal hue (color per se), but it is unclear how attractiveness scales with this property and if extant morphs are maximally attractive relative to a graded range of potential alternatives. We examined these questions by assessing catch rates among color-manipulated females of the dimorphic jeweled spider Gasteracantha fornicata in their natural webs. The manipulation altered dorsal appearance in a manner akin to adding six new variants of their existing white/yellow phenotypes. This magnified the natural variation in stimulus hue independently of chroma (saturation) across a range spanning most of the color spectrum. Catch rate varied across treatments in simple accordance with how greatly stimulus hue deviated from either of the two extant spider phenotypes. Predictions based on fly-perceived chromatic and achromatic background contrast were clearly unsupported despite dipterans constituting ~60 % of identifiable prey. This study supports the importance of signal coloration per se in G. fornicata and suggests that extant lure phenotypes reside in a broadly optimal spectral range for stimulating their aggregate prey community.

Differences in web features between two sympatric Leucauge species (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) suggest a trade-off in prey capture strategy

The design of orb webs is affected by multiple abiotic (e.g., wind, available space), biotic (e.g., prey availability, predation), and species specific (e.g., spider size) factors. Thus, some features of each spider web are expected to reflect the combined effect of such factors. We compared the relationship of spider size and web inclination on the area of different sections of the orb web and other features (e.g., number or radii) between two sympatric Leucauge species (Leucauge sp., and L. argyra (Walckenaer, 1841), Tetragnathidae). Leucauge sp. was smaller and constructed smaller webs across a wider range of inclinations than L. argyra. Other features of the web, e.g., capture area, and hub area, but not the number of adhesive spiral turns and number of radii, were also larger in webs of L. argyra. The inclination was greater in webs of Leucauge sp., but the asymmetry of webs did not differ between species, though, it correlated negatively with the total area of the web of both species, as in other orb-weavers. The characteristics of each species' web suggest that L. argyra optimizes prey interception, while Leucauge sp. optimizes stopping and retention of large prey.

Deceptions of light and shadow: do the visual cues of Gasteracantha cancriformis (Araneae, Araneidae) improve prey interception by webs in the forest understory?

Body coloration of orb-web spiders was previously hypothesized to be attractive to insects, luring potential prey, or associated with protection against visually oriented predators. We combined manipulative experiments with spectral reflectance analyses to test the prey attraction hypothesis, using the araneid spider Gasteracantha cancriformis as a model. The study was conducted in a shaded environment, within a forest fragment of the Atlantic forest located in Southeastern Brazil. Insect interception on web surfaces displaying the dorsal section of G. cancriformis opisthosoma, which emits blue fluorescence and reflects light in the ultraviolet wavelength region, was higher than on surfaces displaying the spider's ventral section, or in webs without spiders. This study supports the prey attraction hypothesis by providing evidence that the color patterns of G. cancriformis dorsum improve prey interception by their webs. Fluorescence and achromatic cues are probably important to lure and attract potential prey.

Wild bats briefly decouple sound production from wingbeats to increase sensory flow during prey captures

SummaryActive sensing animals such as echolocating bats produce the energy with which they probe their environment. The intense echolocation calls of bats are energetically expensive, but their cost can be reduced by synchronizing the exhalations needed to vocalize to wingbeats. Here, we use sound-and-movement recording tags to investigate how wild bats balance efficient sound production with information needs during foraging and navigation. We show that wild bats prioritize energy efficiency over sensory flow when periodic snapshots of the acoustic scene are sufficient during travel and search. Rapid calls during tracking and interception of close prey are decoupled from the wingbeat but are weaker and comprise <2% of all calls during a night of hunting. The limited use of fast sonar sampling provides bats with high information update rates during critical hunting moments but adds little to their overall costs of sound production despite the inefficiency of decoupling calls from wingbeats.

Paddling motion of a free-swimming jellyfish and Lagrangian coherent structure analysis

Swimming and prey capture by prolate and oblate jellyfishes are numerically examined in two-dimensions using multi-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann (MRT-LB) and immersed boundary (IB) methods. The near-field fluid structure interaction (FSI) and predator-prey interaction mechanisms are revealed via the simulated Eulerian flow characteristics, finite-time Lyapunov exponent (FTLE) field, and Lagrangian coherent structures (LCS). We implement appropriate periodic body force (Fb) distribution at nodal points of the elastic bell in radial direction to model the paddled swimming as well as complex feeding behavior. For a paddling jellyfish the evolved starting and stopping vortices, as move close to each other in near-wake, create the necessary vortex induced thrust that facilitate the forward body motion. The forced bell contraction in power stroke assists quicker propulsive swimming, whereas passive bell expansion in resting phase facilitates the continued vortex induced forward movement for larger duration, via the refilled fluid momentum. For feeding the detailed prey interception and precise capture areas for various jellyfish models are identified hereby via the computed prey tracks, forward and backward time FTLE fields, and LCS. Swimming performances are analyzed based on interactive thrust and drag forces, input power (energy rate required for bell contraction), output power (thrust multiplied by centroid velocity), and cost of transport (COT). At low Reynolds number (Re) the COT becomes higher for an oblate jellyfish than that of a prolate one; while with increased Re the oblate species appears more economical. However, for enhanced paddling force (Fb) or reduced flapping frequency of bell, the COT for an oblate jellyfish steadily decreases. Hereby impacts of the varied force duration, flapping amplitude, flapping frequency, and bell-elasticity on the swimming are analyzed in greater detail. Notably, the propulsion efficiency increased for higher flapping frequency. The present numerical model efficiently unfolds prey capture mechanisms that are adopted by prolate and oblate medusae and quantifies their success rate (clearance rate, CR) in prey capture. Unlike in past studies, the FTLE fields and LCS that are computed here by tracking the transient motion of a large number of suspended Lagrangian prey particles exhibit the realistic predator-prey interaction and precise prey capture surface, which are difficult to measure or analyze empirically.

Spider lures exploit insect preferences for floral colour and symmetry

Sensory systems can capture only a fraction of available information, which creates opportunities for deceptive signalling. The sensory traps and sensory bias models have proven valuable for explaining how visual systems and environments shape the design of sexual signals, but their application to deceptive signals is largely limited to the context of pollination. Here we use the ‘jewelled’ orb-web spider Gasteracantha fornicata to experimentally test two longstanding hypotheses for the function of deceptive visual lures. Namely, that they: (1) exploit generalised preferences for conspicuous colouration (sensory bias), or (2) co-opt the otherwise-adaptive foraging response of prey toward flowers (sensory traps). In a field-based study we manipulated the conspicuous dorsal signals of female spiders along two axes—colour pattern and symmetry—to generate a gradient of floral resemblance and monitored the per-individual consequences for prey interception. As predicted by the sensory traps model, the most attractive phenotypes were those with flower-like radial symmetry and solid colour patterns, and their attractiveness equaled that of natural spiders. Taken with recent work demonstrating a close resemblance between G. fornicata and sympatric floral ‘models’, and pollinating insects as primary prey items, our results suggest that the deceptive colour-based lures of spiders function as inter-kingdom sensory traps via floral mimicry, and support the broader extension of sensory-based models to deceptive signalling contexts.

Factors That Can Affect the Spatial Positioning of Large and Small Individuals in Clusters of Sit-and-Wait Predators.

Shadow competition, the interception of prey by sit-and-wait predators closest to the source of prey arrival, is prevalent in clusters of sit-and-wait predators. Peripheral positions in the cluster receive more prey and should thus be more frequently occupied. Models predicting spatial positioning in groups, however, usually ignore variability among group members. Here, I used a simulation model to determine conditions under which small and large sit-and-wait predators, which differ in their attack range, should differ in their spatial positions in the cluster. Small predators occupied peripheral positions more frequently than large predators at the simulation beginning, while the opposite held true as time advanced. Because of the large and small attack range of large and small predators, respectively, small predators mistakenly relocated away from peripheral positions, while large predators did not relocate fast enough from inferior central positions. Any factor that moderated the frequent relocations of small predators or had the opposite effect on large predators assisted small or large predators, respectively, in reaching the more profitable peripheral positions. Furthermore, any factor elevating shadow competition led to longer occupation of the periphery by large predators. This model may explain why sit-and-wait predators are not homogenously distributed in space according to size.

A 2.6‐g sound and movement tag for studying the acoustic scene and kinematics of echolocating bats

Abstract To study sensorimotor behaviour in wild animals, it is necessary to synchronously record the sensory inputs available to the animal, and its movements. To do this, we have developed a biologging device that can record the primary sensory information and the associated movements during foraging and navigating in echolocating bats. This 2.6‐g tag records the sonar calls and echoes from an ultrasonic microphone, while simultaneously sampling fine‐scale movement in three dimensions from wideband accelerometers and magnetometers. In this study, we tested the tag on an European noctula Nyctalus noctula during target approaches and on four big brown bats Eptesicus fuscus during prey interception in a flight room. We show that the tag records both the outgoing calls and echoes returning from objects at biologically relevant distances. Inertial sensor data enables the detection of behavioural events such as flying, turning, and resting. In addition, individual wing‐beats can be tracked and synchronized to the bat's sound emissions to study the coordination of different motor events. By recording the primary acoustic flow of bats concomitant with associated behaviours on a very fine time‐scale, this type of biologging method will foster a deeper understanding of how sensory inputs guide feeding behaviours in the wild.

Artificial night light alters nocturnal prey interception outcomes for morphologically variable spiders.

Artificial night light has the potential to significantly alter visually-dependent species interactions. However, examples of disruptions of species interactions through changes in light remain rare and how artificial night light may alter predator–prey relationships are particularly understudied. In this study, we examined whether artificial night light could impact prey attraction and interception in Nephila pilipes orb weaver spiders, conspicuous predators who make use of yellow color patterns to mimic floral resources and attract prey to their webs. We measured moth prey attraction and interception responses to treatments where we experimentally manipulated the color/contrast of spider individuals in the field (removed yellow markings) and also set up light manipulations. We found that lit webs had lower rates of moth interception than unlit webs. Spider color, however, had no clear impact on moth interception or attraction rates in lit nor unlit webs. The results show that night light can reduce prey interception for spiders. Additionally, this study highlights how environmental and morphological variation can complicate simple predictions of ecological light pollution’s disruption of species interactions.

The potential role of web-based putrescine as a prey-attracting allomone

The use of prey-attracting allomones is likely to be an effective foraging strategy for sit-and-wait predators. Despite this, the production and efficacy of such allomones have rarely been documented. Previous investigations into the chemical composition of spider silk have revealed the presence of a number of potential allomone chemicals such as the amide putrescine, a foul-smelling organic compound. Putrescine is attractive to several terrestrial invertebrates, many of which are also typical prey species of spiders, but whether prey attraction is an underlying mechanism promoting its inclusion in web silk is currently untested. Here, we artificially increased the amount of putrescine in the web silk of female Argiope keyserlingi and assessed the resulting variation in prey interception of normal versus putrescine augmented webs under seminatural field conditions. We demonstrated that webs misted with a putrescine solution captured significantly more prey than webs misted with a control solution and also found differences in prey capture rates between individuals from different populations. This not only suggests that web-bound putrescine acts as a prey attracting allomone, but also that there is population level variation in the web-based foraging strategies of these spiders.

Heuristic Rules Underlying Dragonfly Prey Selection and Interception

Animals use rules to initiate behaviors. Such rules areoften described as triggers that determine when behavior begins. However, although less explored, these selection rules are also an opportunity to establish sensorimotor constraints that influence how the behavior ends. These constraints may be particularly significant in influencing success in prey capture. Here we explore this in dragonfly prey interception. We found that in the moments leading up to takeoff, perched dragonflies employ a series of sensorimotor rules that determine the time of takeoff and increase the probability of successful capture. First, the dragonfly makes a head saccade followed by smooth pursuit movements to orient itsdirection-of-gaze at potential prey. Second, the dragonfly assesses whether the prey's angular size and speed co-vary within a privileged range. Finally, the dragonfly times the moment of its takeoff to a prediction of when the prey will cross the zenith. Each of these processes serves a purpose. The angular size-speed criteria biases interception flights to catchable prey, while the head movements and the predictive takeoff ensure flights begin with the prey visually fixated and directly overhead-the key parameters that underlie interception steering. Prey that do not elicit takeoff generally fail at least one of the criterion, and the loss of prey fixation or overhead positioning during flight is strongly correlated with terminated flights. Thus from an abundance of potential targets, the dragonfly selects a stereotyped set of takeoff conditions based on the prey and body states most likely to end in successful capture.

Jewelled spiders manipulate colour-lure geometry to deceive prey.

Selection is expected to favour the evolution of efficacy in visual communication. This extends to deceptive systems, and predicts functional links between the structure of visual signals and their behavioural presentation. Work to date has primarily focused on colour, however, thereby understating the multicomponent nature of visual signals. Here I examined the relationship between signal structure, presentation behaviour, and efficacy in the context of colour-based prey luring. I used the polymorphic orb-web spider Gasteracantha fornicata, whose yellow- or white-and-black striped dorsal colours have been broadly implicated in prey attraction. In a manipulative assay, I found that spiders actively control the orientation of their conspicuous banded signals in the web, with a distinct preference for near-diagonal bearings. Further field-based study identified a predictive relationship between pattern orientation and prey interception rates, with a local maximum at the spiders' preferred orientation. There were no morph-specific effects on capture success, either singularly or via an interaction with pattern orientation. These results reveal a dynamic element in a traditionally 'static' signalling context, and imply differential functions for chromatic and geometric signal components across visual contexts. More broadly, they underscore how multicomponent signal designs and display behaviours may coevolve to enhance efficacy in visual deception.

Prey interception drives web invasion and spider size determines successful web takeover in nocturnal orb-web spiders.

ABSTRACTA striking feature of web-building spiders is the use of silk to make webs, mainly for prey capture. However, building a web is energetically expensive and increases the risk of predation. To reduce such costs and still have access to abundant prey, some web-building spiders have evolved web invasion behaviour. In general, no consistent patterns of web invasion have emerged and the factors determining web invasion remain largely unexplored. Here we report web invasion among conspecifics in seven nocturnal species of orb-web spiders, and examined the factors determining the probability of webs that could be invaded and taken over by conspecifics. About 36% of webs were invaded by conspecifics, and 25% of invaded webs were taken over by the invaders. A web that was built higher and intercepted more prey was more likely to be invaded. Once a web was invaded, the smaller the size of the resident spider, the more likely its web would be taken over by the invader. This study suggests that web invasion, as a possible way of reducing costs, may be widespread in nocturnal orb-web spiders.

Feeding currents facilitate a mixotrophic way of life.

Mixotrophy is common, if not dominant, among eukaryotic flagellates, and these organisms have to both acquire inorganic nutrients and capture particulate food. Diffusion limitation favors small cell size for nutrient acquisition, whereas large cell size facilitates prey interception because of viscosity, and hence intermediately sized mixotrophic dinoflagellates are simultaneously constrained by diffusion and viscosity. Advection may help relax both constraints. We use high-speed video microscopy to describe prey interception and capture, and micro particle image velocimetry (micro-PIV) to quantify the flow fields produced by free-swimming dinoflagellates. We provide the first complete flow fields of free-swimming interception feeders, and demonstrate the use of feeding currents. These are directed toward the prey capture area, the position varying between the seven dinoflagellate species studied, and we argue that this efficiently allows the grazer to approach small-sized prey despite viscosity. Measured flow fields predict the magnitude of observed clearance rates. The fluid deformation created by swimming dinoflagellates may be detected by evasive prey, but the magnitude of flow deformation in the feeding current varies widely between species and depends on the position of the transverse flagellum. We also use the near-cell flow fields to calculate nutrient transport to swimming cells and find that feeding currents may enhance nutrient uptake by ≈75% compared with that by diffusion alone. We argue that all phagotrophic microorganisms must have developed adaptations to counter viscosity in order to allow prey interception, and conclude that the flow fields created by the beating flagella in dinoflagellates are key to the success of these mixotrophic organisms.

Internal models direct dragonfly interception steering.

Sensorimotor control in vertebrates relies on internal models. When extending an arm to reach for an object, the brain uses predictive models of both limb dynamics and target properties. Whether invertebrates use such models remains unclear. Here we examine to what extent prey interception by dragonflies (Plathemis lydia), a behaviour analogous to targeted reaching, requires internal models. By simultaneously tracking the position and orientation of a dragonfly's head and body during flight, we provide evidence that interception steering is driven by forward and inverse models of dragonfly body dynamics and by models of prey motion. Predictive rotations of the dragonfly's head continuously track the prey's angular position. The head-body angles established by prey tracking appear to guide systematic rotations of the dragonfly's body to align it with the prey's flight path. Model-driven control thus underlies the bulk of interception steering manoeuvres, while vision is used for reactions to unexpected prey movements. These findings illuminate the computational sophistication with which insects construct behaviour.

Buzzing during biosonar-based interception of prey in the delphinids Tursiops truncatus and Pseudorca crassidens.

Echolocating bats and toothed whales probe their environment with ultrasonic sound pulses, using returning echoes to navigate and find prey in a process that appears to have resulted from a remarkable convergence of the two taxa. Here, we report the first detailed quantification of echolocation behaviour during prey capture in the most studied delphinid species, a false killer whale and a bottlenose dolphin. Using acoustic DTAGs, we demonstrate that just prior to prey interception these delphinids change their acoustic gaze dramatically by reducing inter-click intervals and output >10-fold in a high repetition rate, low output buzz. Buzz click rates of 250-500 Hz for large but agile animals suggest that sampling rates during capture are scaled with the whale's manoeuvrability. These observations support the growing notion that fast sonar sampling accompanied by a low output level is critical for high rate feedback to inform motor patterns during prey interception in all echolocating toothed whales.

A Color-Mediated Mutualism between Two Arthropod Predators

The nature of interactions between animals varies depending on local selection pressure, trophic status of the participants, and evolutionary circumstances. Body coloration and other visual signals may also affect animal interactions. Game theory posits that if one species provides a "service" in exchange for a "goods," a mutualism may ensue. Mutualisms between two predators are rare because of multiple conflicts of interests (but see [11, 12]). We used a nocturnal system traditionally considered kleptoparasitic to determine whether a mutualism ensues because the body coloration of the kleptoparasite is beneficial to the host. Specifically, we tested whether the silver body of the spider Argyrodes fissifrons (Theridiidae) attracts prey for the larger, duller spider Cyrtophora unicolor (Araneidae), which reciprocates by allowing A. fissifrons access to its web. When A. fissifrons were removed from C. unicolor webs, the webs intercepted fewer prey. Furthermore, covering the silver body parts of A. fissifrons also resulted in a reduction in prey interception by C. unicolor webs. We thus show that a mutualism between two arthropod predators can be mediated by the coloration of one species enhancing the foraging gains of another.