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© 1998 International Society for Behavioral Ecology

research-article

Spider-web kleptoparasites as a model for studying producer-consumer interactions

Linden E. Higginsa, and Ruth E. Buskirkb

aDepartment of Zoology University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 78712, USA, and Instituto de Ecologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México Apdo. Post. 70275, Mexico City, Mexico bDivision of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 78712, USA

Address Correspondence to L E. Higgins E-mail linden{at}mail.utexas.edu

ABSTRACT

In this study, we documented that the kleptoparasitic spiders Argyroes elvatus consume and assimilate web material from the host spider Nephila clavipes. We also demonstrated quantitatively that the amount of web material consumed by the kleptopa asite is equivalent to the amount of insect material comsumed when host vigilance is low, as expected when foraging conditions are very good. Argyrodes vary in their impact on their hosts, as they may steal large prey, small prey, or silk. This host-kiepto parasite interaction is therefore an ideal system for experimentally cramming a variable producer-consumer interaction. We compare our experimental results to published experiments showing that the impact of Arg on a Nephila host can be deleterious when foraging conditions are poor.

Key words: Argyrodes, commensalism, kleptoparasitism, Nephila, parasitism.


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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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