Self-made shelters protect spiders from predation
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCUAbstract
Many animals modify their environments, apparently to reduce predation risk, but the success of such endeavors, and their impact on the density and distribution of populations, are rarely rigorously demonstrated. We staged a manipulative experiment to assess the effectiveness of self-made shelters by web spiders as protection from natural enemies. Scincid lizards were included or excluded from 21 replicated 200-m^2 plots, and spiders therein were classified as exposed or sheltered, depending on whether they were uncovered in their web or hidden in cocoons, leaves/debris, or burrows. We found that exposed spiders were greatly affected by the presence of predatory scincid lizards, whereas sheltered spiders were not. More specifically, lizards, which forage close to the ground, reduced the abundance of exposed spiders by two-thirds but had no effect on the abundance of sheltered spiders. Sheltered spiders were able to avoid predation and share space with lizards, suggesting that shelter construction is a mechanism for reducing predation risk and has important population consequences.
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
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Volume
105
ISBN/ISSN
1091-6490
Edition
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Issue
39
Pages Count
5
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Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
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Date
N/A
EISSN
N/A
DOI
10.1073/pnas.0807107105