All you can eat: autochthonous vertebrate and invertebrate predation by the alien spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum (C.L. Koch, 1841) (Araneae: Theridiidae) in two anthropogenic habitats of Italy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/graellsia.2023.v79.350Keywords:
Araneae, Theridiidae, Parasteatoda tepidariorum, Europe, Ecology, Vertebrate predation, Podarcis siculus, Alpiscorpius sigmaAbstract
We report the two main autochthonous prey items of the alien spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum (C.L. Koch, 1841) in two anthropogenic habitats of the Italian Alps, namely a lizard and a scorpion species: Podarcis siculus (Rafinesque, 1810) and Alpiscorpius sigma Kovařík, Štundlová, Fet & Šťáhlavský, 2019. Additionally, we briefly describe the predatory behavior of this spider with both preys, highlight the scarcity of records of invertebrate predation on vertebrates in Europe, and address some concerns regarding how this might affect autochthonous populations.
Downloads
References
Baudrot, V., Perasso, A., Fritsch, C, Giraudoux, P. & Raoul, F., 2016. The adaptation of generalist predators' diet in a multi-prey context: Insights from new functional responses. Ecology, 97: 1832-1841. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0427.1 PMid:27859163
Blasco-Aróstegui, J., García-Gila, J. & Francke, O. F., 2020. Ecological aspects of the interactions between Centruroides limbatus and Tityus ocelote (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in a Caribbean Forest of Costa Rica. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad, 91: 1-14. e913418.
Bonnet, P., 1930. Les araignées exotiques en Europe. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 99: 49-64.
Brechtel, A., Gross, T. & Drossel, B., 2019. Far-ranging generalist top predators enhance the stability of meta-food webs. Scientific Reports, 9: 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48731-y PMid:31439912 PMCid:PMC6706381
Brose, U., Williams, R. J. & Martinez, N. D., 2006. Allometric scaling enhances stability in complex food webs. Ecology Letters, 9: 1228-1236. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2006.00978.x PMid:17040325
Chesson, P. L., 1984. Variable predators and switching behavior. Theoretical Population Biology, 26: 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-5809(84)90021-2
Da Silva, A. A., Rohde, C. & De Lira, A. F. A., 2021. Record of mygalomorph spider (Araneae: Theraphosidae) predation by a scorpion (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in a Brazilian seasonally dry tropical forest. Arachnology, 18: 1068-1069. https://doi.org/10.13156/arac.2021.18.9.1068
Dickman, C. R., 1996. Impact of exotic generalist predators on the native fauna of Australia. Wildlife Biology, 2: 185-195. https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.1996.018
Dobson, A., Lodge, D., Alder, J., Cumming, G. S., Keymer, J., McGlade, J., ... & Xenopoulos, M. A., 2006. Habitat loss, trophic collapse, and the decline of ecosystem services. Ecology, 87: 1915-1924. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[1915:HLTCAT]2.0.CO;2 PMid:16937628
Duberstein, J. N. & Sherwood, D., 2020. Predation of Paravaejovis spinigerus (Wood, 1863) (Scopriones: Vaejovidae) by Aphonopelma chalcodes Chamerlin, 1940 (Araneae: Theraphosidae) in Arizona. Arachnology, 18: 496-498. https://doi.org/10.13156/arac.2020.18.5.496
Gendreau, K. L., Haney, R. A., Schwager, E. E., Wierschin, T., Stanke, M., Richards, S. & Garb, J. E., 2017. House spider genome uncovers evolutionary shifts in the diversity and expression of black widow venom proteins associated with extreme toxicity. BMC Genomics, 18: 178. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-017-3551-7 PMid:28209133 PMCid:PMC5314461
Glasser, J. W., 1979. The role of predation in shaping and maintaining the structure of communities. The American Naturalist, 113: 631-641. https://doi.org/10.1086/283422
Gross, T., Rudolf, L., Levin, S. A. & Dieckmann, U., 2009. Generalized models reveal stabilizing factors in food webs. Science, 325: 747-750. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1173536 PMid:19661430
Hänggi, A. & Straub, S., 2016. Storage buildings and greenhouses as stepping stones for non-native potentially invasive spiders (Araneae)-a baseline study in Basel, Switzerland. Arachnologische Mitteilungen, 51: 1-8. https://doi.org/10.5431/aramit5101
Kovařík, F. Štundlová, J., Fet, V., & Šťáhlavský, F., 2019. Seven new Alpine species of the genus Alpiscorpius Gantenbein et al., 1999, stat. n. (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae). Euscorpius, 287: 1-29. https://doi.org/10.18590/euscorpius.2019.vol2019.iss287.1
Levins, R. & Macarthur, R., 1969. An hypothesis to explain the incidence of monophagy. Ecology, 50: 910-911. https://doi.org/10.2307/1933709
May, R., 1972. Will a Large Complex System be Stable? Nature, 238: 413-414. https://doi.org/10.1038/238413a0 PMid:4559589
Mittmann, B. & Wolff, C., 2012. Embryonic development and staging of the cobweb spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum C.L. Koch, 1841 (syn.: Achaearanea tepidariorum; Araneomorphae; Theridiidae). Development Genes and Evolution, 222: 189-216. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00427-012-0401-0 PMid:22569930
Mora-Rubio, C. & Parejo-Pulido, D., 2021. Notas sobre la dieta de la viuda negra mediterránea Latrodectus tredecimguttatus (Rossi, 1790) (Araneae: Theridiidae) en el suroeste de la península ibérica. Graellsia, 77: e138. https://doi.org/10.3989/graellsia.2021.v77.297
Murdoch, W. W., 1969. Switching in general predators: experiments on predator specificity and stability of populations. Ecological Monographs, 39: 335-354. https://doi.org/10.2307/1942352
Nentwig, W., 2015. Introduction, establishment rate, pathways and impact of spiders alien to Europe. Biological Invasions, 17: 2757-2778. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-015-0912-5
Nentwig, W., Blick, T., Gloor, D., Hänggi, A. & Kropf, C., 2022. Spiders of Europe, online at https://araneae.nmbe.ch/, accessed on {21-02-2022}.
Nyffeler, M. & Pusey, B. J., 2014. Fish predation by semi-aquatic spiders: a global pattern. PLoS ONE, 9: e99459. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0099459 PMid:24940885 PMCid:PMC4062410
O'Shea, M. & Kelly, K., 2017. Predation on a weasel skink (Saproscincus mustelinus) (Squamata: Scincidae: Lygosominae) by a redback spider (Latrodectus hasselti) (Araneae: Araneomorpha: Theridiidae), with a review of other Latrodectus predation events involving squamates. Herpetofauna, 44: 49-55.
Parsons, T., 1992. The removal of marine predators by fisheries and the impact of trophic structure. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 25: 51-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-326X(92)90185-9
Pekár, S., Coddington, J. A. & Blackledge, T. A., 2012. Evolution of stenophagy in spiders (Araneae): Evidence based on the comparative analysis of spider diets. Evolution, 66: 776-806. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01471.x PMid:22380440
Polis, G. A., Myers, C. A. & Holt, R. D., 1989. The ecology and evolution of intraguild predation: potential competitors that eat each other. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 20: 297-330. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.20.110189.001501
Pompozzi, G., Ferretti, N., Schwerdt, L., Copperi, S., Ferrero, A. A. & Simó, M., 2013. The diet of the black widow spider Latrodectus mirabilis (Theridiidae) in two cereal crops of central Argentina. Iheringia. Série Zoologia, 103: 388-392. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0073-47212013000400009
Root, R. B., 1967. The niche exploitation pattern of the blue-gray gnatcatcher. Ecological Monographs, 37: 317-350. https://doi.org/10.2307/1942327
Salomon, M., 2011. The natural diet of a polyphagous predator, Latrodectus hesperus (Araneae: Theridiidae), over one year. The Journal of Arachnology, 39: 154-160. https://doi.org/10.1636/P10-25.1
Schomburg, C., Turetzek, N., Schacht, M. I., Schneider, J., Kirfel, P., Prpic, N. M. & Posnien, N., 2015. Molecular characterization and embryonic origin of the eyes in the common house spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum. EvoDevo, 6: 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13227-015-0011-9 PMid:26034574 PMCid:PMC4450840
Speybroeck, J., Beukema, W., Bok, B. & Van der Voort, J., 2017. Guía de campo de los Anfibios y Reptiles de España y de Europa. Ediciones Omega, pp. 302.
Terborgh, J., Lopez, L., Nuñez, P., Rao, M., Shahabuddin, G., Orihuela, G., Riveros, M., Ascanio, R., Adler, G. H., Lambert, T. D. & Balbas, L., 2001. Ecological meltdown in predator-free forest fragments. Science, 294: 1923-1926. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1064397 PMid:11729317
Valdez, J. W., 2020. Arthropods as vertebrate predators: A review of global patterns. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 29: 1691-1703. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13157
Vink, C. J., Derraik, J. G., Phillips, C. B. & Sirvid, P. J., 2011. The invasive Australian redback spider, Latrodectus hasseltii Thorell 1870 (Araneae: Theridiidae): current and potential distributions, and likely impacts. Biological Invasions, 13: 1003-1019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-010-9885-6
Williams, J. L., Moya-Laraño, J. & Wise, D. H., 2006. Burrow decorations as antipredatory devices. Behavioral Ecology, 17: 586-590. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ark003
World Spider Catalog, 2022. World Spider Catalog. Version 23.0. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch, accessed on {21-02-2022}.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the printed and online versions of this Journal are the property of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International” (CC BY 4.0) License. You may read here the basic information and the legal text of the license. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 License must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the published by the Editor, is not allowed.
