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Negative allometry of orb web size in spiders and the implications for the evolution of giant webs

Adele Paillard, Kevin Arbuckle Orcid Logo

Journal of Arachnology, Volume: 51, Issue: 2, Pages: 217 - 222

Swansea University Author: Kevin Arbuckle Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1636/joa-s-21-023

Abstract

Spider webs, and in particular orb webs, are among the most iconic characteristics of spider biology. The evolution of, and developmental changes in, orb webs have been well studied, but we still have a limited understanding of allometric relations between the size of orb webs and spider body size....

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Published in: Journal of Arachnology
ISSN: 0161-8202
Published: American Arachnological Society 2023
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa64732
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spelling v2 64732 2023-10-12 Negative allometry of orb web size in spiders and the implications for the evolution of giant webs d1775d20b12e430869cc7be5d7d4a27e 0000-0002-9171-5874 Kevin Arbuckle Kevin Arbuckle true false 2023-10-12 BGPS Spider webs, and in particular orb webs, are among the most iconic characteristics of spider biology. The evolution of, and developmental changes in, orb webs have been well studied, but we still have a limited understanding of allometric relations between the size of orb webs and spider body size. In this study, we investigate this relationship using measurements from 55 individuals of two common orb-weaving spider (Araneidae) species in South Wales, UK. We recorded body size using two methods: direct measurements with calipers, and estimations from photographs using ImageJ software. We found that these two methods give almost identical measurements, supporting the use of image-based size measurement in many situations where this is advantageous. We also found evidence for negative allometry of orb web size (relative to spider body length), such that larger spiders build proportionately smaller webs. This implies that the ‘giant webs’ in some orb-weaver species must be the result of a fundamental shift in the constraints or advantages which result in the allometric relationships described here. Journal Article Journal of Arachnology 51 2 217 222 American Arachnological Society 0161-8202 6 10 2023 2023-10-06 10.1636/joa-s-21-023 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University Not Required 2024-11-04T11:06:14.6081715 2023-10-12T11:22:51.8747071 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences Adele Paillard 1 Kevin Arbuckle 0000-0002-9171-5874 2 64732__28779__7bc7d40db10b4ef8b45348877bf3e23e.pdf negative allometry of orb web size in spiders and the implications for the evolution of giant webs.pdf 2023-10-12T11:25:46.5666227 Output 207231 application/pdf Version of Record true 2024-10-06T00:00:00.0000000 false eng
title Negative allometry of orb web size in spiders and the implications for the evolution of giant webs
spellingShingle Negative allometry of orb web size in spiders and the implications for the evolution of giant webs
Kevin Arbuckle
title_short Negative allometry of orb web size in spiders and the implications for the evolution of giant webs
title_full Negative allometry of orb web size in spiders and the implications for the evolution of giant webs
title_fullStr Negative allometry of orb web size in spiders and the implications for the evolution of giant webs
title_full_unstemmed Negative allometry of orb web size in spiders and the implications for the evolution of giant webs
title_sort Negative allometry of orb web size in spiders and the implications for the evolution of giant webs
author_id_str_mv d1775d20b12e430869cc7be5d7d4a27e
author_id_fullname_str_mv d1775d20b12e430869cc7be5d7d4a27e_***_Kevin Arbuckle
author Kevin Arbuckle
author2 Adele Paillard
Kevin Arbuckle
format Journal article
container_title Journal of Arachnology
container_volume 51
container_issue 2
container_start_page 217
publishDate 2023
institution Swansea University
issn 0161-8202
doi_str_mv 10.1636/joa-s-21-023
publisher American Arachnological Society
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description Spider webs, and in particular orb webs, are among the most iconic characteristics of spider biology. The evolution of, and developmental changes in, orb webs have been well studied, but we still have a limited understanding of allometric relations between the size of orb webs and spider body size. In this study, we investigate this relationship using measurements from 55 individuals of two common orb-weaving spider (Araneidae) species in South Wales, UK. We recorded body size using two methods: direct measurements with calipers, and estimations from photographs using ImageJ software. We found that these two methods give almost identical measurements, supporting the use of image-based size measurement in many situations where this is advantageous. We also found evidence for negative allometry of orb web size (relative to spider body length), such that larger spiders build proportionately smaller webs. This implies that the ‘giant webs’ in some orb-weaver species must be the result of a fundamental shift in the constraints or advantages which result in the allometric relationships described here.
published_date 2023-10-06T11:06:13Z
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score 11.035874

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