Vibrating aggression: spider males perform an unusual assessment strategy during contest displays

• DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arae028
• Publication Date: 2024-04-01T22:06:41Z
• Authors: João Gabriel Lace...; Gareth Arnott; Paulo Enrique Car...
• Keywords: CONTEST

Abstract A recurrent question in animal contests is whether individuals adopt a self or mutual assessment rule to decide withdraw from contest. However, many empirical studies fail find conclusive support for one of these two possibilities. possible explanation that strategies vary between individuals. In the orb-web spider Trichonephila clavipes, males perform vibrational display on webs may escalate physical contact. Since all phase and only some them escalate, we proposed 2 hypotheses: (1) during phase, (2) do not self-assessment, while escalated assessment. To evaluate hypotheses, investigated relationship duration frontal leg length (a proxy male fight capacity) loser winner did contact phase. We found non-significant losers both escalate. While positive winners length, particularly These results provide mix different rules among suggest T. dynamics be explained by contest (opponent-only size-based aggressiveness) are dependent intruder motivation