Spiders can modify their web construction behaviour according to environmental conditions. Here, we examined how the web structure of Tetragnatha tenuissima differentiates depending on habitat type (swamp or river edge) at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. We characterized the web architecture based on length, number of radii, and the spiral spacing relative to web length. There were no significant differences on the length or number of radii between the webs present in the swamp and river habitats. In terms of the spiral spacing relative to web length, there was a significant difference between habitats, with less distance in river-side webs than in the ones on swamps. This could be explained by the potential differential resource availability on each environment. Therefore, habitat type appears as an explanatory variable for differences on the web structure of T. tenuissima. Due to the small number of identifiable individuals of other Tetragnatha species, the effect of congeneric species co-occurrence on web structure remains as a factor to be tested in future research.
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9 July 2021
Differences in web structure of Tetragnatha tenuissima (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) due to environmental conditions
Gabriela A. Cardona-Rivera,
Darko D. Cotoras
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Arachnology
Vol. 18 • No. 8
July 2021
Vol. 18 • No. 8
July 2021
Costa Rica
habitat adaptation
niche partitioning
orb-weaving spiders
web differentiation
Web structure