The execution of planned detours by spider-eating predators

Many spiders from the salticid subfamily Spartaeinae specialize at preying on other spiders and they adopt complex strategies when targeting these dangerous prey. We tested 15 of these spider-eating spartaeine species for the capacity to plan detours ahead of time. Each trial began with the test sub...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the experimental analysis of behavior Vol. 105; no. 1; p. 194
Main Authors Cross, Fiona R, Jackson, Robert R
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.01.2016
Subjects
Animals
Avoidance Learning
Cognition
Female
Male
Predatory Behavior
Spatial Navigation
Spiders
planning
cognition
detouring
representation
Spartaeinae
jumping spiders
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Summary:Many spiders from the salticid subfamily Spartaeinae specialize at preying on other spiders and they adopt complex strategies when targeting these dangerous prey. We tested 15 of these spider-eating spartaeine species for the capacity to plan detours ahead of time. Each trial began with the test subject on top of a tower from which it could view two boxes: one containing prey and the other not containing prey. The distance between the tower and the boxes was too far to reach by leaping and the tower sat on a platform surrounded by water. As the species studied are known to avoid water, the only way they could reach the prey without getting wet was by taking one of two circuitous walkways from the platform: one leading to the prey ('correct') and one not leading to the prey ('incorrect'). After leaving the tower, the test subject could not see the prey and sometimes it had to walk past the incorrect walkway before reaching the correct walkway. Yet all 15 species chose the correct walkway significantly more often than the incorrect walkway. We propose that these findings exemplify genuine cognition based on representation.
ISSN:1938-3711
DOI:10.1002/jeab.189