Entomology, Ornithology & Herpetology: Current Research
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0983
+44 1478 350008
ISSN: 2161-0983
+44 1478 350008
Li-Li Xian
China
Research Article
Fighting Performance of Female Chinese Wolf Spiders in Cannibalistic Contests in Relation to the Battlefield Size
Author(s): Li-Li Xian, Li-Fang Gao, Chang-Jing Liu and Bo DuLi-Li Xian, Li-Fang Gao, Chang-Jing Liu and Bo Du
Game theory models suggest that both the forms (ritualized display and real fighting) and outcome of animal contest can be influenced by the relative body size, fighting experience, and hunger level of contestants. However, whether a factor determining the outcome of a contest exhibits similar effects in different forms of the contest has not been highlighted. In a cavity-nesting predator, the Chinese wolf spider Lycosa sinensis (Araneae: Lycosidae) that frequently carries out cannibalism on the Tibetan Plateau, we addressed this question in female cannibalistic contests by designing three series of experiments (the first between large and small opponents, the second between experienced and inexperienced opponents, and the last between satiated and hungry opponents). By repeatedly performing these experiments in large and small artificial battlefields, we revealed that battlefield siz.. View More»
DOI:
10.4172/2161-0983.1000204