TY  - JOUR
A1  - Bonte, Dries
A1  - Travis, Justin M. J.
A1  - De Clercq, Nele
A1  - Zwertvaegher, Ingrid
A1  - Lens, Luc
T1  - Thermal conditions during juvenile development affect adult dispersal in a spider
N2  - Abstract: Understanding the causes and consequences of dispersal is a prerequisite for the effective management of natural populations. Rather than treating dispersal as a fixed trait, it should be considered a plastic process that responds to both genetic and environmental conditions. Here, we consider how the ambient temperature experienced by juvenile Erigone atra, a spider inhabiting crop habitat, influences adult dispersal. This species exhibits 2 distinct forms of dispersal, ballooning (long distance) and rappelling (short distance). Using a half-sib design we raised individuals under 4 different temperature regimes and quantified the spiders' propensity to balloon and to rappel. Additionally, as an indicator of investment in settlement, we determined the size of the webs build by the spiders following dispersal. The optimal temperature regimes for reproduction and overall dispersal investment were 20 °C and 25 °C. Propensity to perform short-distance movements was lowest at 15 °C, whereas for long-distance dispersal it was lowest at 30 °C. Plasticity in dispersal was in the direction predicted on the basis of the risks associated with seasonal changes in habitat availability; long-distance ballooning occurred more frequently under cooler, spring-like conditions and short-distance rappelling under warmer, summer-like conditions. Based on these findings, we conclude that thermal conditions during development provide juvenile spiders with information about the environmental conditions they are likely to encounter as adults and that this information influences the spider's dispersal strategy. Climate change may result in suboptimal adult dispersal behavior, with potentially deleterious population level consequences.
KW  - Erigone atra
KW  - emigration
KW  - dispersal distance
KW  - immigration
KW  - behavior
KW  - plasticity
KW  - silk
KW  - body condition
KW  - seasonality
Y1  - 2008
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-48691
ER  -