Host Plant Availability and Nest-Site Selection of the Social Spider <i>Stegodyphus dumicola</i> Pocock, 1898 (Eresidae)
An animals’ habitat defines the resources that are available for its use, such as host plants or food sources, and the use of these resources are critical for optimizing fitness. Spiders are abundant in all terrestrial habitats and are often associated with vegetation, which may provide structure fo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Insects |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/13/1/30 |
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| author | Clémence Rose Andreas Schramm John Irish Trine Bilde Tharina L. Bird |
| author_facet | Clémence Rose Andreas Schramm John Irish Trine Bilde Tharina L. Bird |
| author_sort | Clémence Rose |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | An animals’ habitat defines the resources that are available for its use, such as host plants or food sources, and the use of these resources are critical for optimizing fitness. Spiders are abundant in all terrestrial habitats and are often associated with vegetation, which may provide structure for anchoring capture webs, attract insect prey, or provide protective function. Social spiders construct sedentary communal silk nests on host plants, but we know little about whether and how they make nest-site decisions. We examined host plant use in relation to host plant availability in the social spider <i>Stegodyphus dumicola</i> Pocock, 1898 (Eresidae) across different arid biomes in Namibia and analysed the role of host plant characteristics (height, spines, scent, sturdiness) on nest occurrence. Host plant communities and densities differed between locations. Spider nests were relatively more abundant on <i>Acacia</i> spp., <i>Boscia foetida</i>, <i>Combretum</i> spp., <i>Dichrostachys cinerea</i>, <i>Parkinsonia africana</i>, <i>Tarchonanthus camphoratus</i>, and <i>Ziziphus mucronatus</i>, and nests survived longer on preferred plant genera <i>Acacia</i>, <i>Boscia</i> and <i>Combretum</i>. Spider nests were relatively more abundant on plants higher than 2 m, and on plants with thorns and with a rigid structure. Our results suggest that spiders display differential use of host plant species, and that characteristics such as rigidity and thorns confer benefits such as protection from browsing animals. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:14:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0291b4d74e8842ee9cc5cba1e4ec7e2c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:14:45Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj.art-0291b4d74e8842ee9cc5cba1e4ec7e2c2023-11-23T14:09:40ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502021-12-011313010.3390/insects13010030Host Plant Availability and Nest-Site Selection of the Social Spider <i>Stegodyphus dumicola</i> Pocock, 1898 (Eresidae)Clémence Rose0Andreas Schramm1John Irish2Trine Bilde3Tharina L. Bird4Department of Biology, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of Biology, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkNational Museum of Namibia, Windhoek 1005, NamibiaDepartment of Biology, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of Biology, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkAn animals’ habitat defines the resources that are available for its use, such as host plants or food sources, and the use of these resources are critical for optimizing fitness. Spiders are abundant in all terrestrial habitats and are often associated with vegetation, which may provide structure for anchoring capture webs, attract insect prey, or provide protective function. Social spiders construct sedentary communal silk nests on host plants, but we know little about whether and how they make nest-site decisions. We examined host plant use in relation to host plant availability in the social spider <i>Stegodyphus dumicola</i> Pocock, 1898 (Eresidae) across different arid biomes in Namibia and analysed the role of host plant characteristics (height, spines, scent, sturdiness) on nest occurrence. Host plant communities and densities differed between locations. Spider nests were relatively more abundant on <i>Acacia</i> spp., <i>Boscia foetida</i>, <i>Combretum</i> spp., <i>Dichrostachys cinerea</i>, <i>Parkinsonia africana</i>, <i>Tarchonanthus camphoratus</i>, and <i>Ziziphus mucronatus</i>, and nests survived longer on preferred plant genera <i>Acacia</i>, <i>Boscia</i> and <i>Combretum</i>. Spider nests were relatively more abundant on plants higher than 2 m, and on plants with thorns and with a rigid structure. Our results suggest that spiders display differential use of host plant species, and that characteristics such as rigidity and thorns confer benefits such as protection from browsing animals.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/13/1/30plant-spider interactionarid environmentmicrohabitat useplant structuresurvival |
| spellingShingle | Clémence Rose Andreas Schramm John Irish Trine Bilde Tharina L. Bird Host Plant Availability and Nest-Site Selection of the Social Spider <i>Stegodyphus dumicola</i> Pocock, 1898 (Eresidae) Insects plant-spider interaction arid environment microhabitat use plant structure survival |
| title | Host Plant Availability and Nest-Site Selection of the Social Spider <i>Stegodyphus dumicola</i> Pocock, 1898 (Eresidae) |
| title_full | Host Plant Availability and Nest-Site Selection of the Social Spider <i>Stegodyphus dumicola</i> Pocock, 1898 (Eresidae) |
| title_fullStr | Host Plant Availability and Nest-Site Selection of the Social Spider <i>Stegodyphus dumicola</i> Pocock, 1898 (Eresidae) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Host Plant Availability and Nest-Site Selection of the Social Spider <i>Stegodyphus dumicola</i> Pocock, 1898 (Eresidae) |
| title_short | Host Plant Availability and Nest-Site Selection of the Social Spider <i>Stegodyphus dumicola</i> Pocock, 1898 (Eresidae) |
| title_sort | host plant availability and nest site selection of the social spider i stegodyphus dumicola i pocock 1898 eresidae |
| topic | plant-spider interaction arid environment microhabitat use plant structure survival |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/13/1/30 |
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