Optimal web investment in sub-optimal foraging conditions |
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Authors: | Aaron M T Harmer Hanna Kokko Marie E Herberstein Joshua S Madin |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia;(2) Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, 0200, Australia |
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Abstract: | Orb web spiders sit at the centre of their approximately circular webs when waiting for prey and so face many of the same
challenges as central-place foragers. Prey value decreases with distance from the hub as a function of prey escape time. The
further from the hub that prey are intercepted, the longer it takes a spider to reach them and the greater chance they have
of escaping. Several species of orb web spiders build vertically elongated ladder-like orb webs against tree trunks, rather
than circular orb webs in the open. As ladder web spiders invest disproportionately more web area further from the hub, it
is expected they will experience reduced prey gain per unit area of web investment compared to spiders that build circular
webs. We developed a model to investigate how building webs in the space-limited microhabitat on tree trunks influences the
optimal size, shape and net prey gain of arboricolous ladder webs. The model suggests that as horizontal space becomes more
limited, optimal web shape becomes more elongated, and optimal web area decreases. This change in web geometry results in
decreased net prey gain compared to webs built without space constraints. However, when space is limited, spiders can achieve
higher net prey gain compared to building typical circular webs in the same limited space. Our model shows how spiders optimise
web investment in sub-optimal conditions and can be used to understand foraging investment trade-offs in other central-place
foragers faced with constrained foraging arenas. |
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