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Photo

Poster

NCUR Album

Asheville Wildfire

Mt. Mitchell NC

Asheville

Christopher Latanich
Susquehanna University

Subject Listing - Biology: Zoology
Advisor: Dr. Matthew Persons

Friday, Poster Session 5, Presentation Kiosk 18 B, Health & Fitness Center

SILK DRAGLINE DEPOSITION AND CONSPECIFIC COMMUNICATION IN THE WOLF SPIDER HOGNA HELLUO.

Spiders produce silk threads (draglines) as they move through the environment. Adult female draglines are known to convey information to adult male spiders about the maturity and mating status of females, but whether or not females vary the quantity or quality of the draglines in the presence of males remains unknown. Furthermore the dragline function among males remains unknown. We tested the function of dragline silk in intersexual communication among adult males and adult females of the wolf spider, Hogna helluo. We placed adult male and female H. helluo on grid-bearing 80 mm dia. paper disks for four hours within transparent plastic containers. Spiders were then allowed to observe a conspecific adult female, adult male, juvenile, or no spider through the transparent container. We then quantified the amount, type, and pattern of silk and excreta deposition for each spider on the grids. Preliminary results suggest that male silk deposition patterns remained unchanged in the presence of conspecific spiders, however there was a non-significant trend toward increased deposition of attachment disk silk in the presence of mature females and mature males compared to juveniles and the blank control. Fine gauge silk deposition occurs almost exclusively among mature females suggesting a sex-specific function of this silk type.

Advisor: Dr. Matthew Persons, Associate Professor, Biology, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA