No Cover Image

Journal article 180 views

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

  • Version of Record under embargo until: 6th October 2024

Check full text

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....

Full description

Published in: Journal of Arachnology
ISSN: 0161-8202
Published: American Arachnological Society 2023
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa64732
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
first_indexed 2023-10-12T10:26:31Z
last_indexed 2023-10-12T10:26:31Z
id cronfa64732
recordtype SURis
fullrecord <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><rfc1807 xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>64732</id><entry>2023-10-12</entry><title>Negative allometry of orb web size in spiders and the implications for the evolution of giant webs</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>d1775d20b12e430869cc7be5d7d4a27e</sid><ORCID>0000-0002-9171-5874</ORCID><firstname>Kevin</firstname><surname>Arbuckle</surname><name>Kevin Arbuckle</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2023-10-12</date><deptcode>SBI</deptcode><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. 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.</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>Journal of Arachnology</journal><volume>51</volume><journalNumber>2</journalNumber><paginationStart>217</paginationStart><paginationEnd>222</paginationEnd><publisher>American Arachnological Society</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint>0161-8202</issnPrint><issnElectronic/><keywords/><publishedDay>6</publishedDay><publishedMonth>10</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2023</publishedYear><publishedDate>2023-10-06</publishedDate><doi>10.1636/joa-s-21-023</doi><url>http://dx.doi.org/10.1636/joa-s-21-023</url><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Biosciences</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>SBI</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm>Not Required</apcterm><funders/><projectreference/><lastEdited>2023-12-01T15:23:26.5818138</lastEdited><Created>2023-10-12T11:22:51.8747071</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Science and Engineering</level><level id="2">School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Adele</firstname><surname>Paillard</surname><order>1</order></author><author><firstname>Kevin</firstname><surname>Arbuckle</surname><orcid>0000-0002-9171-5874</orcid><order>2</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>Under embargo</filename><originalFilename>Under embargo</originalFilename><uploaded>2023-10-12T11:25:46.5666227</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>207231</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>Version of Record</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><embargoDate>2024-10-06T00:00:00.0000000</embargoDate><copyrightCorrect>false</copyrightCorrect><language>eng</language></document></documents><OutputDurs/></rfc1807>
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 SBI 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 http://dx.doi.org/10.1636/joa-s-21-023 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences COLLEGE CODE SBI Swansea University Not Required 2023-12-01T15:23:26.5818138 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 Under embargo Under embargo 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
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1636/joa-s-21-023
document_store_str 0
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 2023-10-06T15:23:27Z
_version_ 1784093561387483136
score 11.017797

Similar Items