20th International Congress of Arachnology

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Student - oral presentation
Consequences of prey nutrient content for
nutrient cycling by a wolf spider ( Hogna
carolinensis)
*Cody L. Barnes, Shawn M. Wilder
Department of Integrative Biology Oklahoma State Uni-
versity 501 Life Sciences West Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
The flow of nutrients through ecosystems is affected by
both biotic and abiotic factors. Resources flow through
organisms via ingestion, assimilation, allocation, and
excretion pathways. The currency of resource conversion
in consumers has traditionally been defined within ener-
getic, elemental, and nutrition frameworks. Yet, multiple
frameworks may need to be integrated to study resource
flows as macronutrients are converted to inorganic nutri-
ents by consumers. In the present study, we examined how
variation in the macronutrient content of prey affected
resource ingestion, egestion, excretion, and silk production
in a large wolf spider (Hogna carolinensis). Our early
findings suggest that macronutrients available for spider
assimilation and deposition to ecosystems were related to
the content within prey consumed. Further research will be
critical for developing a broader understanding of resource
withdrawal and recycling by spiders and other consumers.
Keywords: foraging frameworks, nutrient cycling,
resource deposition, wolf spider
Student - poster presentation
First report of a stridulatory organ in
Mastigoproctus giganteusLucas, 1835
*Diego A. Barrales-Alcalá, O. Francke-Ballvé, C. Viquez
Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional
Autónoma de México, Tercer circuito exterior s/
numero Col. Ciudad Universitaria Del. Coyoacan, CP
04510, Ciudad de México, México
The current knowledge of the morphology of whipscor-
pions is basic, and its study has been neglected. There
are few publications that deal in depth not only with this
topic, but also in almost everything related to the order.
The genus Mastigoproctus contains 15 species, and there
are no reports of stridulatory organs for any of them.
Viquez & Armas (2005) described the genus Valeriopho-
nus and reported the stridulatory organ as a diagnostic
character. This character was subsequently mentioned
or used for this genus in other publications. In this work
we revised specimens of different localities of Mastigo-
proctus giganteus deposited in the National Collection
of Arachnids (CNAN) in the UNAM and we observed and
recorded the presence of a stridulatory organ in all
specimens. The stridulatory structures are in the same
position in Mastigoproctus as they are in Valeriophonus,
namely the inner face of the pedipalp coxa and the ectal
face of the chelicera, but they are structurally different.
SEM images of the stridulatory organ of three subspecies
of M. giganteus are presented, including notes on the
behavior and use of the stridulatory organ.
Keywords: Thelyphonida, stridulation, SEM, behaviour
Student - oral presentation
Phylogenetic pattern of sex pheromone
discrimination in widow spiders
*Luciana Baruffaldi, Charmaine Condy, Nathan Lovejoy,
Maydianne Andrade
Integrative Behaviour & Neuroscience Group Depart-
ment of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University
of Toronto, Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail,
Scarborough, ON M1C 1A4, Canada
Most theory regarding signal diversification predicts
sympatry will favour significant divergence in signal struc-
ture or receiver response between closely related species,
whereas signals that do not affect the risk of interbreeding
will slowly accumulate differences over evolutionary time.
We studied functional divergence in contact pheromones
in black widow spiders (Latrodectus); a genus of 30
species with worldwide distribution. Here we focus on
six species (L. geometricus, L. mirabilis, L hasselti, L.
hesperus, L. mactans and L. variolus) from different
clades and biogeographic regions, with no recent history
of sympatry. We test the hypothesis that divergence in sex
pheromones and mate recognition will be best predicted by
46 DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE REPORTS | No. 3, July 2, 2016
Cushing