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Condition dependence of male display coloration in a jumping spider (Habronattus pyrrithrix)

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Abstract

In many animals, conspicuous coloration functions as a quality signal. Indicator models predict that such colors should be variable and condition dependent. In Habronattus pyrrithrix jumping spiders, females are inconspicuously colored, while males display brilliant red faces, green legs, and white pedipalps during courtship. We tested the predictions of the indicator model in a field study and found that male body condition was positively correlated with the size, hue, and red chroma of a male’s facial patch and negatively correlated with the brightness of his green legs. These traits were more condition dependent than non-display colors. We then tested a dietary mechanism for condition dependence using two experiments. To understand how juvenile diet affects the development of coloration, we reared juvenile spiders on high- and low-quality diets and measured coloration at maturity. To understand how adult diet affects the maintenance of coloration, we fed wild-caught adults with high- or low-quality diets and compared their coloration after 45 days. In the first experiment, males fed high-quality diet had redder faces, suggesting that condition dependence is mediated by juvenile diet. In the second experiment, red coloration did not differ between treatments, suggesting that adult diet is not important for maintaining the color after it is produced at maturity. Diet had no effect on green coloration in either experiment. Our results show different degrees of condition dependence for male display colors. Because red is dependent on juvenile diet, it may signal health or foraging ability. We discuss evidence that green coloration is age dependent and alternatives to indicator models for colorful displays in jumping spiders.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Torres, L. Hall, G. Lewis, L. Ramirez, and J. Grieco for the assistance in the field and lab. J. Alcock, M. Butler, C. Johnson, M. Meadows, M. Rowe, R. Rutowski, and M. Toomey provided helpful feedback throughout the study. J. Alcock, R. Rutowski, and four anonymous reviewers provided useful comments on previous versions of the manuscript. We thank M. and C. Schnepf for the permission to collect spiders on their property. This work was supported by an Animal Behavior Society student research grant, a Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to LAT.

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  1. School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874601, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA

    Lisa A. Taylor & Kevin J. McGraw

  2. Department of Biology, Alma College, Alma, MI, 48801, USA

    David L. Clark

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  1. Lisa A. Taylor
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Correspondence to Lisa A. Taylor.

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Communicated by M. Hauber

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Taylor, L.A., Clark, D.L. & McGraw, K.J. Condition dependence of male display coloration in a jumping spider (Habronattus pyrrithrix). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 65, 1133–1146 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-010-1127-5

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