Effects of Facial Manipulation on Courtship Interactions in Habronattus coecatus Jumping Spiders

Abstract

Record ID: 260

Award(s): Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentorship; Excellence in Research Communication

Program Affiliation: NA

Presentation Type: Poster

Abstract: Across a diverse range of taxa, faces play a vital role in social interactions by communicating valuable information such as species identity. In courtship, species recognition can be crucial to avoid hybrid matings, which could result in lowered fitness. Previous studies of facial perception have largely focused on primates and other vertebrate animals, but less is known about how invertebrate animals may view and interact with faces. The Habronattus jumping spider genus is a tractable model system for investigating the function and evolution of facial patterning due to their high visual acuity, excellent color vision, and diversity of species-specific male facial patterns. We hypothesize that male Habronattus faces may play a role in communicating species identity. We predict that manipulation of a male spider's face will result in changes to courtship interactions and mating success. To investigate this, we analyzed the courtship responses of paired male and female H. coecatus, in which male faces were either unmanipulated (i.e., natural) or manipulated to resemble that of a co-occurring species, H. calcaratus. We used the software 'BORIS' to track male courtship effort, female aggression, and mating success. Preliminary results suggest that males with unmanipulated faces may experience higher mating success, but female aggression may be unaffected by male facial patterns. These findings shed light on how invertebrate animals might use facial patterning to inform mating decisions, offering new perspectives on the role and evolution of face signals beyond vertebrate taxa.