Dataset Information

Linking properties of an orb-weaving spider's capture thread glycoprotein adhesive and flagelliform fiber components to prey retention time.

ABSTRACT: An orb web's adhesive capture spiral is responsible for prey retention. This thread is formed of regularly spaced glue droplets supported by two flagelliform axial lines. Each glue droplet features a glycoprotein adhesive core covered by a hygroscopic aqueous layer, which also covers axial lines between the droplets, making the entire thread responsive to environmental humidity.We characterized the effect of relative humidity (RH) on ability of Argiope aurantia and Argiope trifasciata thread arrays to retain houseflies and characterize the effect of humidity on their droplet properties. Using these data and those of Araneus marmoreus from a previous study, we then develop a regression model that correlated glycoprotein and flagelliform fiber properties with prey retention time. The model selection process included newly determined, humidity-specific Young's modulus and toughness values for the three species' glycoproteins.Argiope aurantia droplets are more hygroscopic than A. trifasciata droplets, causing the glycoprotein within A. aurantia droplets to become oversaturated at RH greater than 55% RH and their extension to decrease, whereas A. trifasciata droplet performance increases to 72% RH. This difference is reflected in species' prey retention times, with that of A. aurantia peaking at 55% RH and that of A. trifasciata at 72% RH.Fly retention time was explained by a regression model of five variables: glue droplet distribution, flagelliform fiber work of extension, glycoprotein volume, glycoprotein thickness, and glycoprotein Young's modulus.The material properties of both glycoprotein and flagelliform fibers appear to be phylogenetically constrained, whereas natural selection can more freely act on the amount of each material invested in a thread and on components of the thread's aqueous layer. Thus, it becomes easier to understand how natural selection can tune the performance of viscous capture threads by directing small changes in these components.

SUBMITTER: Opell BD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6745672 | biostudies-other | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Linking properties of an orb-weaving spider's capture thread glycoprotein adhesive and flagelliform fiber components to prey retention time.

Opell Brent D BD Burba Cassandra M CM Deva Pritesh D PD Kin Matthew H Y MHY Rivas Malik X MX Elmore Hannah Mae HM Hendricks Mary L ML

Ecology and evolution 20190815 17

An orb web's adhesive capture spiral is responsible for prey retention. This thread is formed of regularly spaced glue droplets supported by two flagelliform axial lines. Each glue droplet features a glycoprotein adhesive core covered by a hygroscopic aqueous layer, which also covers axial lines between the droplets, making the entire thread responsive to environmental humidity.We characterized the effect of relative humidity (RH) on ability of <i>Argiope aurantia</i> and <i>Argiope trifasciata< ...[more]

PMID: 31534698

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Project description:BackgroundHigh-resolution sound and movement recording tags offer unprecedented insights into the fine-scale foraging behaviour of cetaceans, especially echolocating odontocetes, enabling the estimation of a series of foraging metrics. However, these tags are expensive, making them inaccessible to most researchers. Time-Depth Recorders (TDRs), which have been widely used to study diving and foraging behaviour of marine mammals, offer a more affordable alternative. Unfortunately, data collected by TDRs are bi-dimensional (time and depth only), so quantifying foraging effort from those data is challenging.MethodsA predictive model of the foraging effort of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) was developed to identify prey capture attempts (PCAs) from time-depth data. Data from high-resolution acoustic and movement recording tags deployed on 12 sperm whales were downsampled to 1 Hz to match the typical TDR sampling resolution and used to predict the number of buzzes (i.e., rapid series of echolocation clicks indicative of PCAs). Generalized linear mixed models were built for dive segments of different durations (30, 60, 180 and 300 s) using multiple dive metrics as potential predictors of PCAs.ResultsAverage depth, variance of depth and variance of vertical velocity were the best predictors of the number of buzzes. Sensitivity analysis showed that models with segments of 180 s had the best overall predictive performance, with a good area under the curve value (0.78 ± 0.05), high sensitivity (0.93 ± 0.06) and high specificity (0.64 ± 0.14). Models using 180 s segments had a small difference between observed and predicted number of buzzes per dive, with a median of 4 buzzes, representing a difference in predicted buzzes of 30%.ConclusionsThese results demonstrate that it is possible to obtain a fine-scale, accurate index of sperm whale PCAs from time-depth data alone. This work helps leveraging the potential of time-depth data for studying the foraging ecology of sperm whales and the possibility of applying this approach to a wide range of echolocating cetaceans. The development of accurate foraging indices from low-cost, easily accessible TDR data would contribute to democratize this type of research, promote long-term studies of various species in several locations, and enable analyses of historical datasets to investigate changes in cetacean foraging activity.

Dataset Information

Linking properties of an orb-weaving spider's capture thread glycoprotein adhesive and flagelliform fiber components to prey retention time.

Publications

Linking properties of an orb-weaving spider's capture thread glycoprotein adhesive and flagelliform fiber components to prey retention time.

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