Skip Navigation



Behavioral Ecology Advance Access published online on June 7, 2006
Behavioral Ecology, doi:10.1093/beheco/arl005
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Lay Summary
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
17/5/765    most recent
arl005v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Elias, D. O.
Right arrow Articles by Hoy, R. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Elias, D. O.
Right arrow Articles by Hoy, R. R.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received January 5, 2005
Revised March 28, 2006
Accepted May 5, 2006

Article

Female preference for complex/novel signals in a spider

Damian O. Elias 1, Eileen A. Hebets 2 *, and Ronald R. Hoy 1

1 Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Seeley G. Mudd Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
2 Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Seeley G. Mudd Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, 348 Manter Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Eileen A. Hebets, E-mail: ehebets2{at}unlnotes.unl.edu


  Abstract

Identifying the various factors that influence complex signal evolution is a difficult task, yet it is fundamental to understanding the evolution of animal communication. Here we explore the evolution of complex courtship signaling by taking advantage of a system in which sexual selection on male courtship traits has driven the diversification of geographically isolated populations of the jumping spider Habronattus pugillis Griswold. Using 2 populations (Santa Rita [SR] and Atascosa [AT]) in which SR females show xenophilic mating preferences for foreign (AT) over local males (SR), we examine the mechanisms driving this preference. Both AT and SR males produce multimodal signals (visual + seismic), and while SR and AT signals share certain seismic components, AT seismic signals are more complex and contain novel components. We conducted mate choice trials where SR females were presented with AT or SR males that were either muted or nonmuted. SR females preferred to mate and mated more quickly with foreign AT males over local SR males only if AT males could produce seismic signals (nonmuted treatment). In addition, we found that SR females spent a higher proportion of time attentive to foreign AT males only if they could produce seismic signals. This evidence suggests that SR females have a bias for complex and/or novel forms of seismic signals.

Keywords: antagonistic co-evolution; complex signaling; female choice; multimodal signaling; novelty; spider.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
M. L.M. Lim, J. Li, and D. Li
Effect of UV-reflecting markings on female mate-choice decisions in Cosmophasis umbratica, a jumping spider from Singapore
Behav. Ecol., January 1, 2008; 19(1): 61 - 66.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Exp. Biol.Home page
N. D. VanderSal and E. A. Hebets
Cross-modal effects on learning: a seismic stimulus improves color discrimination learning in a jumping spider
J. Exp. Biol., October 15, 2007; 210(20): 3689 - 3695.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.