Building behavior does not drive rates of phenotypic evolution in spiders

Do animals set the course for the evolution of their lineage when manipulating their environment? This heavily disputed question is empirically unexplored but critical to interpret phenotypic diversity. Here, we tested whether the macroevolutionary rates of body morphology correlate with the use of built artifacts in a megadiverse clade comprising builders and nonbuilders-spiders. By separating the inferred building-dependent rates from background effects, we found that variation in the evolution of morphology is poorly explained by artifact use. Thus natural selection acting directly on body morphology rather than indirectly via construction behavior is the dominant driver of phenotypic diversity.

Avian mud nest architecture by self-secreted saliva

We provide a biomechanical explanation of how swallows and phoebes can construct strong nests of incohesive mud granules using saliva as a paste. The analysis leads to a hypothesis for why only 57 small light-weighted bird species (of approximately 10,000 species worldwide) can build mud nests on walls by utilizing their saliva. Our comprehensive study, combining experiments on natural and artificial mud nests and mathematical models on granular cohesion, not only elucidates the physical mechanism of this extraordinary animal architecture, but also provides inspiration to three-dimensional printing technology based on environmentally benign granular materials.

Mud nests built by swallows (Hirundinidae) and phoebes (Sayornis) are stable granular piles attached to cliffs, walls, or ceilings. Although these birds have been observed to mix saliva with incohesive mud granules, how such biopolymer solutions provide the nest with sufficient strength to support the weight of the residents as well as its own remains elusive. Here, we elucidate the mechanism of strong granular cohesion by the viscoelastic paste of bird saliva through a combination of theoretical analysis and experimental measurements in both natural and artificial nests. Our mathematical model considering the mechanics of mud nest construction allows us to explain the biological observation that all mud-nesting bird species should be lightweight.

Morphogenesis of termite mounds

Several species of millimetric-sized termites across Africa, Asia, Australia, and South America collectively construct large, meter-sized, porous mound structures that serve to regulate mound temperature, humidity, and gas concentrations. These mounds display varied yet distinctive morphologies that range widely in size and shape. To explain this morphological diversity, we introduce a mathematical model that couples environmental physics to insect behavior: The advection and diffusion of heat and pheromones through a porous medium are modified by the mound geometry and, in turn, modify that geometry through a minimal characterization of termite behavior. Our model captures the range of naturally observed mound shapes in terms of a minimal set of dimensionless parameters and makes testable hypotheses for the response of mound morphology to external temperature oscillations and internal odors. Our approach also suggests mechanisms by which evolutionary changes in odor production rate and construction behavior coupled to simple physical laws can alter the characteristic mound morphology of termites.

Plasticity in extended phenotype increases offspring defence despite individual variation in web structure and behaviour

Many animals actively defend their offspring using a range of behaviours from calling and mobbing in birds, to physical grappling in crustaceans, and the expression of these behaviours positively scale with offspring value. While this role of behaviour in defence is well studied, very little is known about how other traits, specifically the structure of architectural constructions such as webs and nests, contribute to offspring defence. Additionally, although some tax a show consistent individual differences in offspring defence behaviour, it is completely unknown whether individuals also differ in defensive structures. We addressed these questions in the redback spider, Latrodectus hasselti, by measuring how a female laying an eggcase influences female behaviour and web structure, and whether those traits scale with relative reproductive investment. Our results show that females modified web structure in response to an eggcase, but only the protective elements of web structure positively scaled with the relative value of that eggcase. Finally, despite the significant correlations, fixed effects (e.g. eggcase possession/value) in the models explained only 5-23% of the variation in behaviour and web structure, while the random effect of individual identity explained 46-65% of the variation. This variation drove moderate to high repeatability estimates across all traits, suggesting that some individuals consistently invest relatively more in defence, while some invest less. These results highlight that extended phenotypic traits may be a critical component of offspring defence in some taxa. Furthermore, individual variation in these traits suggest that different reproductive strategies may exist, whereby some individuals invest more in reproduction at a cost to safety/foraging and vice versa.

Distinct spinning patterns gain differentiated loading tolerance of silk thread anchorages in spiders with different ecology

Building behaviour in animals extends biological functions beyond bodies. Many studies have emphasized the role of behavioural programmes, physiology and extrinsic factors for the structure and function of buildings. Structure attachments associated with animal constructions offer yet unrealized research opportunities. Spiders build a variety of one- to three-dimensional structures from silk fibres. The evolution of economic web shapes as a key for ecological success in spiders has been related to the emergence of high performance silks and thread coating glues. However, the role of thread anchorages has been widely neglected in those models. Here, we show that orb-web (Araneidae) and hunting spiders (Sparassidae) use different silk application patterns that determine the structure and robustness of the joint in silk thread anchorages. Silk anchorages of orb-web spiders show a greater robustness against different loading situations, whereas the silk anchorages of hunting spiders have their highest pull-off resistance when loaded parallel to the substrate along the direction of dragline spinning. This suggests that the behavioural 'printing' of silk into attachment discs along with spinneret morphology was a prerequisite for the evolution of extended silk use in a three-dimensional space. This highlights the ecological role of attachments in the evolution of animal architectures.

Evolution and Genetics of Precocious Burrowing Behavior in Peromyscus Mice

A central challenge in biology is to understand how innate behaviors evolve between closely related species. One way to elucidate how differences arise is to compare the development of behavior in species with distinct adult traits [1]. Here, we report that Peromyscus polionotus is strikingly precocious with regard to burrowing behavior, but not other behaviors, compared to its sister species P. maniculatus. In P. polionotus, burrows were excavated as early as 17 days of age, whereas P. maniculatus did not build burrows until 10 days later. Moreover, the well-known differences in burrow architecture between adults of these species-P. polionotus adults excavate long burrows with an escape tunnel, whereas P. maniculatus dig short, single-tunnel burrows [2-4]-were intact in juvenile burrowers. To test whether this juvenile behavior is influenced by early-life environment, we reciprocally cross-fostered pups of both species. Fostering did not alter the characteristic burrowing behavior of either species, suggesting that these differences are genetic. In backcross hybrids, we show that precocious burrowing and adult tunnel length are genetically correlated and that a P. polionotus allele linked to tunnel length variation in adults is also associated with precocious onset of burrowing in juveniles, suggesting that the same genetic region-either a single gene with pleiotropic effects or linked genes-influences distinct aspects of the same behavior at these two life stages. These results raise the possibility that genetic variants affect behavioral drive (i.e., motivation) to burrow and thereby affect both the developmental timing and adult expression of burrowing behavior.

The contribution of developmental experience vs. condition to life history, trait variation and individual differences

1. Developmental experience, for example food abundance during juvenile stages, is known to affect life history and behaviour. However, the life history and behavioural consequences of developmental experience have rarely been studied in concert. As a result, it is still unclear whether developmental experience affects behaviour through changes in life history, or independently of it. 2. The effect of developmental experience on life history and behaviour may also be masked or affected by individual condition during adulthood. Thus, it is critical to tease apart the effects of developmental experience and current individual condition on life history and behaviour. 3. In this study, we manipulated food abundance during development in the western black widow spider, Latrodectus hesperus, by rearing spiders on either a restricted or ad lib diet. We separated developmental from condition-dependent effects by assaying adult foraging behaviour (tendency to attack prey and to stay on out of the refuge following an attack) and web structure multiple times under different levels of satiation following different developmental treatments. 4. Spiders reared under food restriction matured slower and at a smaller size than spiders reared in ad lib conditions. Spiders reared on a restricted diet were more aggressive towards prey and built webs structured for prey capture, while spiders reared on an ad lib diet were less aggressive and built safer webs. Developmental treatment affected which traits were plastic as adults: restricted spiders built safer webs when their adult condition increased, while ad lib spiders reduced their aggression when their adult condition increased. The amount of individual variation in behaviour and web structure varied with developmental treatment. Spiders reared on a restricted diet exhibited consistent variation in all aspects of foraging behaviour and web structure, while spiders reared on an ad lib diet exhibited consistent individual variation in aggression and web weight only. 5. Developmental experience affected the average life history, behaviour and web structure of spiders, but also shaped the amount of phenotypic variation observed among individuals. Surprisingly, developmental experience also determined the particular way in which individuals plastically adjusted their behaviour and web structure to changes in adult condition.

Can differential nutrient extraction explain property variations in a predatory trap?

Predators exhibit flexible foraging to facilitate taking prey that offer important nutrients. Because trap-building predators have limited control over the prey they encounter, differential nutrient extraction and trap architectural flexibility may be used as a means of prey selection. Here, we tested whether differential nutrient extraction induces flexibility in architecture and stickiness of a spider's web by feeding Nephila pilipes live crickets (CC), live flies (FF), dead crickets with the web stimulated by flies (CD) or dead flies with the web stimulated by crickets (FD). Spiders in the CD group consumed less protein per mass of lipid or carbohydrate, and spiders in the FF group consumed less carbohydrates per mass of protein. Spiders from the CD group built stickier webs that used less silk, whereas spiders in the FF group built webs with more radii, greater catching areas and more silk, compared with other treatments. Our results suggest that differential nutrient extraction is a likely explanation for prey-induced spider web architecture and stickiness variations.

Bowerbirds, art and aesthetics: Are bowerbirds artists and do they have an aesthetic sense?

Male bowerbirds create and decorate a structure called a bower which serves only to attract females for mating, and females visit and choose one among many bower owners before deciding which male to mate with. Is what they do art, and do they have an aesthetic sense? I propose operational definitions of art, judgement, and an aesthetic sense which depend upon communication theory which allow one to get explicit answers to this question. By these definitions Great Bowerbirds are artists, judge art, and therefore have an aesthetic sense.