ROW: Insect Visual Capability and Araneoid Predation

蜘蛛的独特之处在于它们能够产生诱捕猎物的丝网。这些陷阱的结构变化很大，生产它们的丝绸的物理特性也是如此。在这项研究中，将调查网页设计的重要性和网页丝绸的反射特性对昆虫看到和避开它们的能力。影响卷筒纸可见性的因素与卷筒纸丝绸的光学性质和网站的光学性质有关。尽管对昆虫如何感知蜘蛛网一无所知，但总的来说，昆虫利用三种不同的视觉线索来评估它们的环境：物体和物体背景之间的对比度，物体的颜色和物体的运动。克雷格将研究蜘蛛网和蜘蛛网背景之间的对比以及蜘蛛网的颜色如何影响昆虫看到和避开蜘蛛网的能力。通过采取比较和系统发育的方法，野外和实验室研究将探索蜘蛛觅食模式的许多方面，这些方面会影响它们捕获猎物的能力。这项研究的结果将有助于我们从总体上理解捕食者-猎物相互作用的演化，以及昆虫视觉感知对昆虫捕食者觅食模式的影响。首先，这项工作将导致分析猎物捕获过程的不同组成部分如何限制觅食模式的变化，从而导致捕食者觅食策略的演变。其次，通过使用现场和实验室相结合的方法，这些研究将有助于确定影响野外昆虫视觉辨别的因素。第三，这项研究将有助于理解蜘蛛和昆虫之间的生态关系。

Spiders are uniquely characterized by their ability to produce silk nets that trap prey. The architectures of these traps are highly variable as are the physical properties of the silks from which they are spun. In this research the importance of web design and the reflective properties of web silks to the ability of insects to see and avoid them will be investigated. Factors that affect web visibility are related to the optical properties of web silks and the optical properties of websites. Although nothing is known about how insects perceive spider webs, in general insects make use of three different visual cues to evaluate their environment: contrast between objects and object background, object color and object movement. Craig will study how contrast between webs and web backgrounds and web color affect the ability of insects to see and avoid spider webs. By taking a comparative and phylogenetic approach, the field and laboratory studies will explore many of the aspects of spider foraging modes that affect their ability to capture prey. The finding that result from this research will contribute to our understanding of the evolution of predator-prey interactions, in general, as well as the effect of insect visual perception on the foraging modes of insect predators. First, this work will result in an analysis of how different components of a prey capture process constrain variations in foraging modes and hence the evolution of a predator foraging strategy. Second, by using a combination of field and laboratory approaches, these studies will help to identify the factors affecting insect visual discrimination in the field. Third, this research will contribute to an understanding of the ecological relationships between spiders and insects.