Gan Wenjin
EEPAI Group, XTBG
How do spiders to be the Spiderman?
The Superpower of Spiderman
Vision
(Lim & Daiqin Li, 2007)
(David Edwin Hill, 2010)(David Edwin Hill, 2010)
(Photographs by Ron Atkinson)
(Lim & Daiqin Li, 2007)
Silk
SCIENCEphotoLIBRARY
(Photographs by Ron Atkinson)
(Ron Atkinson)
What do spiders use their silk for?
Web
http://www.oocities.org/brisbane_spiders
Orb-web Frame Diagram
http://www.oocities.org/brisbane_spiders
Brain
Decoration-building Behavior
Web-decorating behavior
Spiral stabilimentum built by Cyclosa
spider
Cross-like stabilimentum spum by Argiope adults
Vertical-linear stabilimentum produced by other Argiope
species
Silk-decoration built by same species
(Photographs by Daiqin Li)
Forms of web decorations
(Herberstein et al. 2000)
Web decorations by Cyclosa sp.
Silk
Detritus
Egg sacs
Prey remains
Model system
WHAT…?
HOWWHY
Self-secreted materials(SS)
SilkEgg sacs Molt
Cyclosa octotuberculata
Collected materials(CO) Dry leaf
Green leaf
Prey remains BarkFlower pedals
Fibers
2 = 132.4, df = 2, P < 0.0001
Materials
Below 2% Discoid 5%
Linear 85%
Patterns
Above 8%
2 =385.2, df=3, P<0.0001
WHAT
HOW…?
WHY
Where Cyclosa spiders collect decorating materials to decorate their webs?
Experimental procedure
20 cm5 cm
20 cm
• Monitored the webs continuously for six days.
• Variables recorded:1. No. spiders decorating
webs.2. Mean No. pieces of paper
used.3. Mean decoration length.
0
10
20
30
40
Bottom Web Both Bottom Web Both
Adult Juvenile
Mea
n d
ecora
tion l
ength
(m
m)
Fig.1 Mean ( s.e.) cumulative decoration
length(mm) built by each experimental group of
spiders at the end of experiment in day5.
Results
0
20
40
60
80
100
Bottom Web Both Bottom Web Both
Adult Juvenile
% l
eaf
frag
emen
ts u
sed t
o
dec
ora
tion
Fig.2 Mean ( s.e.) cumulative number of dry-
leaf fragments used by each experimental group of
spiders to decorate their webs in day5.
WHAT
HOW…?
WHY
How Cyclosa spiders collect materials to decorate their webs?
Color
Texture
F3=2.417 P=0.70
F3=1.062 P=0.368
F3=1.686 P=0.174
• Fig.3 Number of different positions of different textures fragments of web decorations built by spiders in the day5.• Effect of different color fragments on the web and decoration traits in day5: F3 = 0.038, P=0.990 (ANOVA)
Texture
Weight
• Table 1 Effect of different weight fragments on the web and decoration traits in day5.
FactorWeb and decoration
traitsF 4 P
Weight CA 0.7930 0.5315TTL 0.8859 0.4741MH 0.1276 0.9722
Number of fragments 20.1639 <0.001
• Fig.4 Total number of spiders used 5 different weight fragments in day5.
WHAT
HOW
WHY…?
Fig. 5 Normalized reflectance spectra of Cyclosaoctotuberculata spiders, decorations and vegetation backgrounds
Plant detritus
A cost of web decoration: predator-attraction
The Super-organ of Spiders
Reference
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider
• http://www.oocities.org
• hhttp://www.arachnology.be/Arachnology.html
• http://www.findaspider.org.au
• Biology of Spiders, Folix, Oxford Express
• A Spider’s World: Senses and Behaviour, Barth, F.G., Springer-Verlag, Berlin
• Animal behavior (9th edition), John Alcock
Thank you!