ABSTRACT Cannibalism is considered common among spiders. Nonsexual cannibalism might provide a significant foraging behavior for wolf spiders. To determine the type of cannibalism that influences the foraging behavior of Lycosa poliostoma (Lycosidae), we conducted experiments to test whether hunger level and territoriality affected the rate of cannibalism in adult females in captivity. We found significant differences in the rates of cannibalism between starved spiders and control spiders. Specifically, starved spiders preyed on conspecifics at higher rates than those of satiated spiders. In addition, we found significant differences in the rates of cannibalism between territorial spiders and control spiders, suggesting that territoriality is an important component of foraging behavior. In conclusion, we provide the first report of hunger and territorial-dependent cannibalism in Lycosa poliostoma (Lycosidae), an abundant wolf spider in the grasslands of Argentina and Uruguay. This work generates new questions on the role of cannibalism in its trophic ecology as well as on its potential use as a biological control of pests.

中文翻译：

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南美狼蛛（Araneae：Lycosidae）雌性的饥饿和领土依赖性同类相食

摘要 食人被认为在蜘蛛中很常见。非性同类相食可能为狼蛛提供重要的觅食行为。为确定影响灰鲟科（Lycosidae）觅食行为的同类相食类型，我们进行了实验以测试饥饿水平和领土性是否影响圈养成年雌性的同类相食率。我们发现饥饿蜘蛛和对照蜘蛛之间的自相残杀率存在显着差异。具体来说，饥饿的蜘蛛比饱足的蜘蛛捕食同种蜘蛛的速度更高。此外，我们发现领地蜘蛛和控制蜘蛛之间的自相残杀率存在显着差异，这表明领地性是觅食行为的重要组成部分。综上所述，我们提供了第一份关于狼蛛属（Lycosidae）的饥饿和领土依赖性自相残杀的报告，狼蛛科是阿根廷和乌拉圭草原上的一种丰富的狼蛛。这项工作产生了关于同类相食在其营养生态学中的作用以及其作为害虫生物防治的潜在用途的新问题。