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DOI 10.1007/s00265-007-0425-z
ORIGINAL PAPER
Received: 18 November 2006 / Revised: 25 March 2007 / Accepted: 9 May 2007 / Published online: 23 May 2007
# Springer-Verlag 2007
Abstract Individual-level variation in resource use occurs Keywords Apoidea . Learning trade-offs . Niche variation .
in a broad array of vertebrate and invertebrate taxa and may Intra-population variation
have important ecological and evolutionary implications. In
this study, we measured the degree of individual-level
variation in prey preference of the hunting wasp Trypoxylon Introduction
albonigrum, which inhabits the Atlantic Forest in south-
eastern Brazil. This wasp captures several orb-weaving Many natural populations are composed of ecologically
spider genera to provision nests. Individuals consistently heterogeneous individuals that use different subsets of the
specialized on a narrow subset of the prey taxa consumed by available resources (Van Valen 1965; Heinrich 1979; Lewis
the population, indicating the existence of significant 1986; West 1986, 1988; Price 1987; Werner and Sherry
individual-level variation in prey preferences. The population 1987). Individuals within a population may vary in resource
niche was broader in the wet season in terms of both prey size use because they inhabit different microhabitats (Durell
and taxa. In the case of prey size, the population niche ex- 2000) or due to sex and age-related morphological or be-
pansion was achieved via increased individual niche havioral differences (Polis 1984; Slatkin 1984). However,
breadths, whereas in the case of prey taxa, individual niches individuals can also exhibit niche variation within sex or
remained relatively constrained, and the population niche age-class and within a single site or time. For example, in
expanded via increased interindividual variation. The ob- the finches Pinaroloxias inornata (Passeriformes, Ember-
served pattern suggests the possibility of functional trade-offs izidae) of Cocos Island, Costa Rica, individuals feed as
associated with the taxon of the consumed prey. The nature of specialists, while the population as a whole is extremely
the trade-offs remains unknown, but they are likely related to generalized in its foraging habits and exploits a broad range
learning in searching and/or handling prey. We hypothesize of food types (Werner and Sherry 1987). This individual-
that by specializing on specific prey taxa, individuals level variation is called “individual specialization” and may
increase foraging efficiency, reducing foraging time and have several ecological and evolutionary implications
ultimately increasing reproductive success. (Bolnick et al. 2003).
Individual specialization is generally related to con-
straints on an individual’s ability to efficiently exploit a
Communicated by M. Giurfa
wide variety of resources. Constraints generally arise from
M. S. Araújo (*) functional trade-offs in which consumers efficiently
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia,
Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas,
exploiting one type of resource are inefficient using another
Caixa Postal 6109, 13083-970 Campinas, SP, Brazil type of resource (Bolnick et al. 2003). If resource use
e-mail: maraujo@unicamp.br involves learning, neurological limitations may prevent
individuals from using a resource once they have learned
M. O. Gonzaga
Depto. de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia,
how to exploit a different resource (Werner et al. 1981;
Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Lewis 1986; Werner and Sherry 1987; Bernays and Funk
Caixa Postal 6109, 13083-970 Campinas, SP, Brazil 1999). For instance, in the cabbage butterfly Pieris rapae
1856 Behav Ecol Sociobiol (2007) 61:1855–1863
(Lepidoptera, Pieridae), the efficiency of individuals in larva, which are provisioned with several spiders each
extracting nectar from flowers increases with time follow- (Coville 1987; O’Neill 2001). As a result, nests contain a
ing a learning curve, and individuals show consistency natural register of many foraging events of individual
through time on the type of flower exploited (Lewis 1986). wasps, providing an excellent opportunity to investigate
The variety of resources used by a population may vary individual consistency in resource use.
according to changes in the abundance of resources in the In the present study, we investigated the phenomenon of
environment. For example, temporally abundant resources individual specialization in a population of the hunting
may be included in the population diet, causing the wasp Trypoxylon (Trypargilum) albonigrum. This wasp
population niche to expand (Schoener 1986; Robinson and builds mud cylindrical nests containing several cells
Wilson 1998). This niche expansion, in turn, can be (Fig. 1a) that are provisioned with a large number of spiders
achieved in two ways. Every individual in the population of at least six genera of orb-weaving spiders (Araneidae),
may use a broader array of resources, or there can be greater spanning a variety of sizes, web architectures (presence/
interindividual variation (Bolnick et al. 2003). The latter absence of retreats and free-sectors, mesh density, and
scenario is more in line with the presence of trade-offs, as defensive tactics; Gonzaga and Vasconcellos-Neto 2005).
individual niches remain constrained while the population For example, in one of the consumed genera, Parawixia,
niche expands, so that individuals use only a subset of the spiders remain in the center of the web (Fig. 1b–d) and
resources used by the population as a whole, causing usually flee to the vegetation when disturbed, whereas the
individual specialization. This niche expansion via increased members of another consumed genus, Eustala, remain most
interindividual variation has been observed in a natural of the day in a cryptic position close to the vegetation
population of the perch Perca fluviatilis (Perciformes, (Fig. 1e–g). Therefore, these different spiders may poten-
Percidae) from central Sweden (Svanbäck and Persson tially require different hunting skills from the wasps,
2004) and has been experimentally demonstrated in stickle- imposing learning trade-offs. Thus, we hypothesize that
backs (Svanbäck and Bolnick 2007) and Drosophila individual wasps show high consistency in prey choice.
melanogaster (Bolnick 2001). Additionally, the prey composition of nests changes season-
Individual specialization in resource use has been ally in the study site (Gonzaga and Vasconcellos-Neto
demonstrated in a wide array of taxa (Bolnick et al. 2003), 2005). Provided that there is individual specialization and
and there is some evidence that it may also occur in the the population niche breadth varies seasonally, we have the
hunting wasp genera Trypoxylon (Crabronidae; Coville and opportunity to test the hypothesis that the degree of
Coville 1980; Coville 1987) and Chalybion (Sphecidae; individual specialization increases when the population
Muma and Jeffers 1945). Coville and Coville (1980), for niche becomes broader as a consequence of individual
example, collected nests of T. tenoctitlan in which one niches remaining constrained, which would be suggestive of
female deposited practically only Araneidae prey, while functional trade-offs. Specifically, we (1) quantified the
another female provisioned its nest mainly with jumping degree of individual specialization in prey size and taxon in
spiders (Salticidae). According to Coville (1987), the T. albonigrum and (2) tested the hypothesis that broader
individual-level differences in the prey content of nests niches correspond with higher degrees of individual
may result from females hunting in different areas, specialization.
exploiting aggregations of spiders or becoming conditioned
to certain types of spiders or hunting behavior. In addition
to Trypoxylon, three other genera in the family Crabronidae Materials and methods
and two in the related family Sphecidae hunt spiders to
provide food for their larvae (Coville 1987). These wasps Study site
capture a wide range of spider taxa, including orb-weaving
spiders (e.g., Araneidae, Tetragnathidae, Nephilidae), ar- We carried out this study at Parque Estadual Intervales, an
aneiod sheet web weavers (e.g., Theridiidae), and even Atlantic forest reserve of about 49,000 ha located in the
several taxa that usually do not use webs to capture prey Paranapiacaba mountain range close to Ribeirão Grande,
(e.g., Lycosidae, Salticidae, Oxyopidae, Clubionidae; state of São Paulo, Brazil. This reserve is surrounded by
Muma and Jeffers 1945; Coville and Coville 1980; Camillo three other preservation units, accounting for more than
and Brescovit 1999; Blackledge et al. 2003). After attack- 120,000 ha of continuous old secondary growth and
ing and immobilizing their prey, the wasps transport the primary evergreen forest. Climate is characterized by a
paralyzed spiders to nests constructed inside natural hot/wet season (hereafter “wet season”) from September to
cavities, excavated in the ground, or built using mud. An March (monthly rainfall varying from 112.5 to 265.5 mm
interesting feature of these nests is that they usually contain and average temperature between 14.6 and 20.4°C) and a
several chambers (also called “cells”), each holding one relatively cold/dry season (hereafter “dry season”) from
Behav Ecol Sociobiol (2007) 61:1855–1863 1857
Fig. 1 a Female of Trypoxylon albonigrum building a mud nest. The Web of Eustala sp. showing the peripheral position occupied and the
other wasp in the picture is the male. b Female of Parawixia audax. free sector in the web. The spider remains in the vegetation, holding a
c, d Web of P. audax showing the position occupied by the spider thread connected to the hub of the orb. Scales: a, b, e, 0.5 cm; c, d, f,
during the day, in the center of the orb (*). e Female of Eustala sp. f, g g, 5 cm
April to August (63.2–99.2 mm of rainfall and average The body lengths of all intact spiders were measured to
temperature varying from 14.2 to 16.7°C—data collected the nearest 0.01 mm using a dissecting microscope with an
from 1992–1997 and 2002–2003 in a meteorological ocular micrometer. These length measures were then used
station located 10 km from the study site). to calculate estimates of dry weights based on a regression
equation relating dry weight to length for all the spider
Data collection genera found in this study (Gonzaga and Vasconcellos-Neto
2005). Voucher specimens of T. albonigrum were deposited
Nests were sampled in the area known as “Carmo” (24°18′S, in the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo
48°24′W), once a month, from December 2001 to No- (curator C.R.F. Brandão), and the spiders were deposited in
vember 2002. Nests were found attached to the walls of a the collection of the Instituto Butantan (curator A.D.
house (a research station), either alone or forming sets Brescovit), São Paulo, Brazil.
containing two to six adjacent nests (Fig. 1a). Different sets
were considered as belonging to different females. All the Data analyses
adjacent nests in a set were assumed to belong to the same
female, but only the last pipe of the set, which was usually Although we were able to identify most spiders to species
being filled with spiders at the moment of sampling, was level, we lumped species into genera and defined the latter
sampled. We took this procedure because cells in the as the prey taxa in the analyses. We did so because all the
earlier constructed pipes of a given set usually had well- analyzed species within a genus share the same features
developed larvae that had already partially or entirely (e.g., size, web architecture, defensive tactics) that are
consumed the provisions. As nests were in different stages probably important cues for the wasps when foraging or
of conclusion when sampled, the number of cells and, as a may affect their foraging success. Therefore, we think that
consequence, of spiders, varied considerably among indi- in this system, the spider genera reflect better the different
vidual wasps (Fig. 2a). types of resources available to the wasps.
1858 Behav Ecol Sociobiol (2007) 61:1855–1863
to use BIC/TNW as a measure of interindividual variance, Population and individual niche breadth
but we stick to Roughgarden’s (1974) WIC/TNW to follow
historical precedence. Prey size
X Prey taxa
PS i ¼ 1 0:5 pij qj
j
The niche breadth of the prey taxa consumed was measured
with Levins’ D (Levins 1968):
in which PSi is the overlap between individual i’s niche, 1
D¼P 2
and the population niche, pij, represents the proportion of qj
prey category j in individual i’s diet, and qj is the proportion j
of the jth resource category in the population’s niche and is where qj is the same as above.
calculated as: In the case individual niches, qj represents the
proportion of the jth resource category in an individual’s
P diet and is calculated as:
nij nj
qj ¼ P
qj ¼ P P
i
nj
nij j
i j To compare the population niche breadth between
seasons, one needs to calculate sampling error estimates for
where nij represents the number of items in individual i’s the niche-breadth measures. We used 10,000 nonparametric
diet that falls into category j. For an individual i that bootstrap resamplings to calculate 95% confidence limits,
specializes on a single prey category j, its PSi will take on i.e., 2.5 and 97.5 percentiles, around the measures of pop-
qj, whereas for individuals that consume prey in direct ulation niche breadth (Efron and Tibshirani 1993; Davidson
proportion to the population as a whole, PSi will equal 1. and Hinkley 2003). If the confidence limits overlap, there is
The PSi values of all individuals in the population can be no significant difference between niche breadths of the dry
calculated and summarized as a population-wide measure of and wet seasons; niche breadths are significantly different
individual specialization, which is the average of PSi values, otherwise. We developed a computer program that draws
IS (Bolnick et al. 2002). IS varies from near 0 (maximum individual niches from an empirical sample of size N, with
individual specialization) to 1 (no individual specialization). replacement, to build simulated populations of the same
An interesting feature of PSi is that it generates measures of size, after which, D is calculated. The program was written
individual specialization for each individual in the popula- in C language and is available from the authors upon
tion, which allowed us to compare the degree of individual request. Additionally, we compared the individual niche
specialization between wet and dry seasons by performing a breadths in the dry and wet seasons with a Mann–Whitney
Mann–Whitney U test on PSi values. The calculation of all U test on the individual D values. The Mann–Whitney U
indices was performed in IndSpec1, a program to calculate test and the F test were performed in SYSTAT11.
indices of individual specialization (Bolnick et al. 2002). We
also used IndSpec1 to calculate the significance of the WIC/
TNW and the IS measures of individual specialization. Results
IndSpec1 uses a nonparametric Monte Carlo procedure to
generate replicate null diet matrices drawn from the Individual specialization
population distribution (Bolnick et al. 2002) from which P
values can be computed. We used 10,000 replicates in The average±standard deviation number of spiders per
Monte Carlo bootstrap simulations to obtain P values for examined nest was 10.1±6.60 (range 2–32; N=54), and
these indices. The Mann–Whitney U test was performed in individuals showed great consistency in their foraging
SYSTAT11. preferences (Fig. 2a).
1860 Behav Ecol Sociobiol (2007) 61:1855–1863
Prey size
Prey taxa
Prey size
hand, individuals expanded their range of prey sizes in the in the wasps Pepsis formosa and P. mildei (Pompilidae) the
wet season, as indicated by the higher WIC values in this time required for individual wasps to orient their bodies
season. In the following paragraphs, we discuss (1) the towards the host, to approach it and to complete the hunting
possible mechanism underlying individual specialization, sequence, decreased during successive captures (Punzo
(2) the temporal consistency of specialization, and (3) the 2005). As another example, short-term specialization of
ecological implications of this individual-level variation in anthidiine bees (Apoidea) on one plant species increases
resource use. foraging efficiency by reducing time and effort involved in
learning to locate and manipulate flowers (Muller 1996). A
Mechanism of individual specialization similar increase in the efficiency of flower manipulation was
also observed in bumblebees (Heinrich 1979).
An important task in the study of individual specialization is Therefore, it is possible that individuals of T. albonigrum
to identify its underlying mechanisms, which is, in general, learn how to efficiently exploit specific spider genera and
associated with the presence of functional trade-offs, either become specialized on them as a consequence. The hypoth-
morphological, behavioral, or physiological (Bolnick et al. esis that this specialization increases foraging efficiency
2003). An increase in foraging efficiency associated with could be tested experimentally by measuring foraging effi-
learning has been shown in a wide range of animals, from ciency (e.g., frequency of success in capture attempts, time
butterflies, bees, and aphids among insects (Heinrich 1979; required for immobilization) during successive feeding
Lewis 1986; Bernays and Funk 1999), to fish and birds trials. Such experiments could also help us to discern if
(Werner and Hall 1974; Werner et al. 1981; Werner and learning is more critical in searching for or handling spiders.
Sherry 1987) among vertebrates. In all these cases, individ- An alternative approach would be to mark and follow indi-
uals tended to become specialists after some experience with viduals in the field and measure their foraging rate (a proxy
a given resource. for efficiency). If specialists are indeed more efficient, we
In the case of T. albonigrum, individual specialization is would expect a correlation between specialization and
possibly a result of learning trade-offs associated with prey foraging efficiency.
searching and/or handling times. This wasp preys on Interestingly, individual specialization in prey size fol-
spiders showing a wide range of defensive tactics, such as lowed an opposite trend from that of prey taxa so that
(1) to remain in retreats composed of curled leaves and silk individuals in the wet season became more generalist in terms
(e.g., Araneus), (2) to move towards the web periphery or of prey size. The scenario that emerges from combining the
the vegetation when disturbed (e.g., Parawixia), and (3) to data on prey size and taxa is that wasps rely mainly on
remain constantly in the vegetation in a cryptic position (e.g., Eustala in both the dry and wet seasons, but in the later,
Eustala). These differences in the spiders’ rest positions and although most individuals still prey on Eustala, part of them
reactions, in turn, may require different skills from wasps to switch to previously underutilized genera such as Parawixia
locate and subdue their prey. For example, when hunting the and Mangora. Although the population as a whole becomes
spider Larinioides cornutus (Araneidae), the wasp Sceli- more generalist in the wet season, individuals stick to
phron caementarium chases it out of its retreat (Eberhard mainly one taxon, increasing interindividual variation. We
1970), but when hunting Argiope aurantia or A. trifasciata speculate that the higher within-individual variance in prey
(Araneidae), it bumps into the web vigorously, dropping the sizes may be a reflection of a wider range of available prey
spider from it, and then pursues the spider by crawling sizes within each spider genera in the wet season, which
around the vegetation in gradually enlarging circular patterns needs to be investigated.
(Blackledge and Pickett 2000). Additionally, Trypoxylon
politum (Rau 1944) and Trypoxylon sp. (Blackledge and Temporal consistency
Pickett 2000) may use aggressive mimicry, plucking the web
threads to attract resident spiders, and different spider The timescale at which niche preferences persist is of
species may require distinct mimicry signals (Jackson and utmost importance for the way that resource competition
Wilcox 1993). It is clear from these examples that not only and frequency-dependent interactions will operate (Bolnick
different spiders require different hunting techniques, but et al. 2003). For example, in P. rapae, individuals specialize
also these techniques may often be very elaborate. on a flower type during 1 day based on their first encounter
Now, if learning is an important step in hunting efficiently in that day, but they specialize on different flower types in
in wasps and there are learning trade-offs associated with successive days (Lewis 1986). In this case, individuals may
different hunting techniques, we would expect individual switch quickly their food preferences in response to food
wasps to specialize on specific resource types. In support of abundance, and therefore, there will be no frequency-
this idea, there is empirical evidence that experience increases dependent interactions. On the other hand, if diet special-
the foraging efficiency in other Hymenoptera. For example, ization is linked to morphology (e.g., benthic and limnetic
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