Hodge Margaret A, Uetz George W
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, 45221-0006, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Oecologia. 1996 Sep;107(4):578-587. doi: 10.1007/BF00333951.
This study investigated association between solitary orb-weaving spiders and a colonial orb-weaving spider, Metepeira incrassata (Araneae: Araneidae). Spiders were sampled along transects and an index of species association showed that two of the species were associated more frequently than expected based on a null hipothesis of random co-occurrence. The potential advantages of mixed-species association were investigated by comparing prey-capture success of one of these associates, Nephila clavipes (Araneae: Tetragnathidae), when it occurs alone, in single-species groups, and when associated with M. incrassata colonies. Field observations of prey-capture success by all three of these categories of N. clavipes revealed that individuals in M. incrassata colonies captured significantly more prey than solitaries or individuals in single-species groups. The increase in prey capture by N. clavipes in M. incrassata colonies may result from utilization of a foraging niche which intercepts a diffirent spectrum of prey than that available to single-species groups or solitaries. Related to this enhanced prey consumption is greater fecundity of spiders in association with M. incrassata as compared to solitaries or individuals in single-species groups.
本研究调查了独居圆网蛛与群居圆网蛛厚圆蛛（蜘蛛目：园蛛科）之间的关联。沿着样带对蜘蛛进行采样，物种关联指数表明，基于随机共现的零假设，其中两个物种的关联频率高于预期。通过比较其中一种伙伴蜘蛛——横纹金蛛（蜘蛛目：肖蛸科）在单独出现、单物种群体出现以及与厚圆蛛群落共存时的捕食成功率，研究了混合物种关联的潜在优势。对这三类横纹金蛛的捕食成功率进行的实地观察表明，厚圆蛛群落中的个体捕获的猎物明显多于单独的个体或单物种群体中的个体。横纹金蛛在厚圆蛛群落中捕食量的增加可能是由于利用了一个觅食生态位，该生态位截获的猎物光谱与单物种群体或独居个体可获得的不同。与这种增加的猎物消耗相关的是，与单独个体或单物种群体中的蜘蛛相比，与厚圆蛛共存的蜘蛛繁殖力更强。
