Herberstein M E, Craig C L, Coddington J A, Elgar M A
Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2000 Nov;75(4):649-69. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-185x.2000.tb00056.x.
A number of taxonomically diverse species of araneoid spiders adorn their orb-webs with conspicuous silk structures, called decorations or stabilimenta. The function of these decorations remains controversial and several explanations have been suggested. These include: (1) stabilising and strengthening the web; (2) hiding and concealing the spider from predators; (3) preventing web damage by larger animals, such as birds; (4) increasing foraging success; or (5) providing a sunshield. Additionally, they may have no specific function and are a consequence of stress or silk regulation. This review evaluates the strength of these explanations based on the evidence. The foraging function has received most supporting evidence, derived from both correlative field studies and experimental manipulations. This contrasts with the evidence provided for other functional explanations, which have not been tested as extensively. A phylogenetic analysis of the different decoration patterns suggests that the different types of decorations are as evolutionary labile as the decorations themselves: the analysis shows little homology and numerous convergences and independent gains. Therefore, it is possible that different types of decorations have different functions, and this can only be resolved by improved species phylogenies, and a combination of experimental and ultimately comparative analyses.
许多分类学上不同的园蛛科蜘蛛会在它们的圆网上装饰显眼的丝结构，称为装饰物或稳定带。这些装饰物的功能仍存在争议，并且已经提出了几种解释。这些解释包括：（1）稳定和加固蛛网；（2）使蜘蛛对捕食者隐藏起来；（3）防止较大动物（如鸟类）破坏蛛网；（4）提高觅食成功率；或（5）提供遮阳物。此外，它们可能没有特定功能，而是压力或丝调节的结果。这篇综述根据证据评估了这些解释的可信度。觅食功能得到了最多的支持证据，这些证据来自相关的野外研究和实验操作。这与为其他功能解释提供的证据形成对比，其他功能解释尚未得到广泛测试。对不同装饰模式的系统发育分析表明，不同类型的装饰物与装饰物本身一样在进化上不稳定：分析显示同源性很少，有许多趋同和独立获得的情况。因此，不同类型的装饰物可能具有不同的功能，而这只能通过改进物种系统发育以及结合实验和最终的比较分析来解决。
