Habitat selection and potential antiherbivore effects of Peucetia flava (Oxyopidae) on Solanum thomasiifolium (Solanaceae)

Several spider species use plants as shelter and foraging sites, but the relationships among these organisms are still poorly known. Lynx spiders of the genus Peucetia do not build webs, and many species live strictly in plants bearing glandular trichomes. Peucetia flava Keyserling 1877 inhabits Solanum thomasifolium in southeastern Brazil and usually preys on herbivores and other small insects adhered to the glandular trichomes of its host plant. To evaluate the potential anti-herbivore protection. of this spider species for S. thomasifolium, we glued termites used as herbivore models oil trichomes of S. thomasifolium and on neighboring plants lacking glandular trichomes. leaf miner damage and spider density were recorded for S. thomasifolium plants in July 1997. There was a positive relationship between plant size and spider density. The removal or termites in S. thomasifolium by P. flava was higher than ill plants without glandular trichomes. The leaf miner damage was negatively related to spider density. Our results Suggest that P. flava may be all important plant bodyguard in the defense of S. thomasifolium from its natural herbivores.

Microhabitat use by Peucetia flava (Oxyopidae) on the glandular plant Rhyncanthera dichotoma (Melastomataceae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Natural history of Peucetia flava (Araneae, Oxyopidae): seasonal density fluctuation, phenology and sex ratio on the glandular plant Rhyncanthera dichotoma (Melastomataceae)

The seasonal density fluctuation, phenology and sex ratio of Peucetia flava (Oxyopidae) on Rhyncanthera dichotoma (Melastomataceae) were investigated during a year in a swamp in southeastern Brazil. Peucetia flava displayed an unusual non-seasonal life cycle and the population size varied little over the year. The density of Peucetia spiders increased with the increase in abundance of leaves and number of arthropods adhered to glandular trichomes on R. dichotoma leaves. Our findings suggest that seasonal density fluctuation of Peucetia may be influenced by foraging site availability (i.e. leaves) and prey supply (i.e. arthropods adhering to glandular trichomes). The unusual seasonal stability of P. flava may be related to the type of habitat in which this spider occurs (swamp), because of the constant input of allochthonous resources from the water source, i.e. aquatic insects that migrate to the terrestrial environment.

Associations of spiders of the genus Peucetia (Oxyopidae) with plants bearing glandular hairs

Two common South American species of lynx spiders, Peucetia rubrolineata and P. flava (Oxyopidae), were surveyed on three localities in southeastern Brazil to determine plant choice. Both species were found to be associated with plants bearing glandular trichomes. A literature review and complementary data show that ten Peucetia species are associated with up to 55 plant species bearing glandular trichomes in at least 20 distinct vegetation types (phytophysiognomies) in more than 36 localities in the Neotropical, Neartic, Afrotropical, and Paleartic regions. The main plant families used by the spiders were Solanaceae, Asteraceae, and Melastomataceae. The specialization of the Peucetia species for plants bearing glandular trichomes may have evolved because insects adhered to these sticky structures may be used as prey by the spiders.

Relação de custo/benefício na interação entre a aranha Peucetia flava (Oxyopidae) e a planta Rhynchanthera dichotoma (Melastomataceae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Efeitos indiretos das aranhas Peucetia spp. (Oxyopidae) e Misumenops argenteus (Thomisidae) no sucesso reprodutivo de Trichogoniopsis adenantha (DC) (Asteraceae) e no comportamento das guildas associadas à planta

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

ANTI-HERBIVORE PROTECTION BY MUTUALISTIC SPIDERS and THE ROLE of PLANT GLANDULAR TRICHOMES

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Plant glandular trichomes mediate protective mutualism in a spider-plant system

1. Although several species of Peucetia (Oxyopidae) live strictly in association with plants bearing glandular trichomes worldwide, to date little is known about whether these associations are mutualistic.2. In this study we manipulated the presence of Peucetia flava on the glandular plant Rhynchanthera dichotoma in the rainy and post-rain season, to test the strength of its effects on leaf, bud, and flower damage and plant reproductive output. In addition, we ran independent field experiments to examine whether these sticky structures improve spider fidelity to plants.3. Peucetia suppressed some species of foliar phytophages, but not others. Although spiders have reduced levels of leaf herbivory, this phenomenon was temporally conditional, i.e. occurred only in the post-rain but not in the rainy season. Floral herbivory was also reduced in the presence of spiders, but these predators did not affect plant fitness components.4. Plants that had their glandular trichomes removed retained fewer insects than those bearing such structures. Spiders remained longer on plants with glandular trichomes than on plants in which these structures had been removed. Isotopic analyses showed that spiders that fed on live and dead labelled flies adhered to the glandular hairs in similar proportions.5. Spiders incurred no costs to the plants, but can potentially increase individual plant fitness by reducing damage to reproductive tissues. Temporal conditionality probably occurred because plant productivity exceeded herbivore consumption, thus dampening top-down effects. Specialisation to live on glandular plants may have favoured scavenging behaviour in Peucetia, possibly an adaptation to periods of food scarcity.

Chromosomal characteristics and karyotype evolution of oxyopidae spiders (araneae, entelegynae)

We made a cytogenetic analysis of four species of Oxyopidae and compared it with the karyotype data of all species of this family. In Hamataliwa sp, the mitotic cells showed 2n♂ = 26+X 1X 2 and telocentric chromosomes. The 2n♂ = 28, which has been described for only one oxyopid spider, is the highest diploid number reported for this family. Peucetia species exhibited distinct karyotype characteristics, i.e., 2n♂ = 20+X 1X 2 in P. flava and 2n♂ = 20+X in P. rubrolineata, revealing interspecific chromosome variability within this genus. However, both Peucetia species exhibited telocentric chromosomes. The most unexpected karyotype was encountered in Oxyopes salticus, which presented 2n♂ = 10+X in most individuals and a predominance of biarmed chromosomes. Additionally, one male of the sample of O. salticus was heterozygous for a centric fusion that originated the first chromosomal pair and exhibited one supernumerary chromosome in some cells. Testicular nuclei of Hamataliwa sp and O. salticus revealed NORs on autosomal pairs, after silver impregnation. The majority of Oxyopidae spiders have their karyotype differentiated by both reduction in diploid number chromosome number and change of the sex chromosome system to X type; however, certain species retain the ancestral chromosome constitution 2n = 26+X1X2. The most remarkable karyotype differentiation occurred in O. salticus studied here, which showed the lowest diploid number ever observed in Oxyopidae and the second lowest registered for Entelegynae spiders. © FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br.

Cariótipo, comportamento dos cromossomos na meiose e região organizadora de nucléolo de aranhas pertencentes às famílias Oxyopidae e theridiidae (Araneomorphae, entelegynae)

No presente trabalho, seis espécies de aranhas pertencentes às famílias Oxyopidae e Theridiidae foram examinadas citogeneticamente, através de técnicas de coloração convencional e impregnação pelo íon prata. A análise de células mitóticas e meióticas coradas com Giemsa de quatro espécies de Oxyopidae, Hamataliwa sp., Peucetia flava, Peucetia rubrolineata e Oxyopes salticus revelou informações citogenéticas inéditas para a família. Metáfases espermatogoniais de Hamataliwa sp. mostraram o cariótipo 2n=26+X1X2, o qual corresponde ao maior número diplóide já descrito para a família. Células mitóticas de P. flava e P. rubrolineata exibiram 2n♂=20+X1X2 e 2n♂=20+X, respectivamente, indicando a ocorrência de uma variabilidade cariotípica dentro desse gênero. Os cromossomos dessas três espécies apresentaram morfologia acro/telocêntrica. Os resultados obtidos em O. salticus foram surpreendentes, pois revelaram 2n♂=10+X, o menor número cromossômico encontrado para Oxyopidae e o segundo menor registrado para aranhas do grupo Entelegynae, bem como morfologia meta/submetacêntrica da maioria dos cromossomos. Além disso, um indivíduo da amostra de O. salticus examinada apresentou um heteromorfismo nos elementos que constituem o primeiro par do cariótipo e um cromossomo B em algumas células. Em Hamataliwa sp. e O. salticus, as regiões organizadoras de nucléolo estavam localizadas sobre dois e três pares autossômicos, respectivamente. Em relação às duas espécies de Theridiidae, Argyrodes elevatus apresentou um cariótipo totalmente discrepante, quando comparado com aqueles já descritos para a família, uma vez que mostrou o número diplóide 2n♂=21, sistema cromossômico sexual do tipo X/XX e morfologia cromossômica meta/submetacêntrica. No entanto, as características cariotípicas verificadas na maioria dos exemplares de Nesticodes rufipes foram semelhantes aquelas mais freqüentes em aranhas ...