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104

DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE

REPORTS

|

No. 3, July 2, 2016

Cushing

Simon, 1908 is available. We also sequenced numerous

specimens of

Proshermacha

and 20 distinct genetic lin-

eages were detected. These lineages mostly correspond with

morphological differences, and we therefore interpret them

as distinct species. Their disjunct distributions display obvious

patterning across southern Australia, ranging from the high

rainfall south coast in to the transitional drier regions.

Keywords: Nemesiidae; southern Australia; molecular;

morphology; species distribution; rainfall patterns

Student - poster presentation

Quantifying non-consumptive effects of

arthropod predators on agroecosystem pests

*Domonique Hatton, Susan Riechert

569 Dabney Hall, University of Tennessee, Knoxville,

TN 37996-1610, USA

dhatton@vols.utk.edu

Fear Ecology is an understudied subset of predator-prey

population dynamics. We have yet to quantitatively assess

the indirect and non-consumptive effects predators have

on their prey. Diverse assemblages of spiders can act as

buffers that limit the initial exponential growth of given

prey populations in agroecosystems. As prey mitigate preda-

tion risk through the manifestation of adaptive traits, such

as predator avoidance behaviors, there will be negative costs

associated with these traits. Non-consumptive effects involve

the assumption that prey cease foraging as a mechanism to

avoid predators. Active avoidance minimally results in lost

foraging time, can induce physiological stress, and may have

significant effects on the generation turnover time of crop

pests. I am looking at prey response to simulated, olfactory,

tactile, and visual cues. Differences in prey feeding activity

and development will tell provide some information as to the

non-consumptive effects foraging spiders have on their prey.

Oral presentation

Amblypygids as a model for exploring links

between sensory systems and behavior

Eileen A. Hebets

1

, Verner P. Bingman

2

, Wulfila Gronenberg

3

,

Daniel D. Wiegmann

4

1

School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska,

Lincoln, NE 68588, USA;

2

Department of Psychology,

Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH

43403, USA;

3

Department of Neuroscience, University

of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA;

4

Department of

Biological sciences, Bowling Green State University,

Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA

ehebets2@unl.edu

Our working knowledge of the relationship between brain

structures, sensory integration, and complex behavior is

surprisingly limited. Navigation, as a behavioral context,

is particularly well-suited for providing insights into these

relationships as it is arguably a tangible manifestation of

higher cognitive ability. Traditional studies of navigation,

however, have focused predominantly on a small subset of

taxa that inhabit rather simple environments. Modernizing

navigation research requires the identification of model

species that display successful navigation in a structurally

complex environment, possess higher-order processing

centers putatively capable of multisensory processing, and

are amenable to sophisticated behavioral and neural assays.

We propose that amblypygids offer just such a system.

Recent field research using the amblypygid

Phrynus

pseudoparvulus

has documented successful homing

behavior of displaced individuals in heterogeneous trop-

ical rainforest understories. Manipulations of the sensory

systems of displaced individuals suggest a reliance on olfac-

tory cues and putative visual cues. Earlier work additionally

provided evidence that amblypygids are capable of learning

tactile cues, raising the possibility of mechanoreception

being important in nocturnal navigation as well. This talk

will summarize the current state of knowledge regarding

learning, memory, and navigation in amblypygids and will

discuss ongoing research aimed at linking sensory systems

to complex behavior in this understudied arachnid group.

Keywords: Amblypygid, navigation, sensory ecology,

multimodal, learning

Oral presentation

Cryptic elevational zonation in the

Aliaty-

pus janus

complex (Antrodiaetidae) from

montane California

Marshal Hedin

1

, James Starrett

1

, Cheryl Hayashi

2