Development of site fidelity in the nocturnal amblypygid, Phrynus marginemaculatus

Amblypygids are capable of navigation in the complex terrain of rainforests in near complete darkness. Path integration is unnecessary for successful homing, and the alternative mechanisms by which they navigate have yet to be elucidated. Here, our aims were to determine whether the amblypygid Phryn...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Comparative Physiology 2017-05, Vol.203 (5), p.313-328
Main Authors: Graving, Jacob M., Bingman, Verner P., Hebets, Eileen A., Wiegmann, Daniel D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Physiology
Animals
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Change detection
Darkness
Daylight
Homing
Homing behavior
Homing Behavior - physiology
Integration
Life Sciences
Motor Activity - physiology
Neurosciences
Night
Nocturnal
Original Paper
Rainforests
Shelters
Site fidelity
Spiders - physiology
Terrain
Zoology
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Summary:Amblypygids are capable of navigation in the complex terrain of rainforests in near complete darkness. Path integration is unnecessary for successful homing, and the alternative mechanisms by which they navigate have yet to be elucidated. Here, our aims were to determine whether the amblypygid Phrynus marginemaculatus could be trained to reliably return to a target shelter in a laboratory arena—indicating goal recognition—and to document changes in behavior associated with the development of fidelity. We recorded nocturnal movements and space use by individuals over five nights in an arena in which subjects were provided with two shelters that differed in quality. The target shelter, unlike the alternative shelter, shielded subjects from light in daylight hours. Individuals consistently exited and returned to a shelter each night and from the third night onward chose the target shelter more often than the alternative shelter. Indeed, on the fifth night, every subject chose the target shelter. This transition was associated with changes in movement and space use in the arena. Notably, the movement features of outbound and inbound paths differed but did not change across nights. Individuals were also characterized by distinct behavioral strategies reflecting candidate homing mechanisms.
ISSN:0340-7594
1432-1351
DOI:10.1007/s00359-017-1169-5