Multimodal Courtship Displays
Attracting a female for mating is a risky and energetically-expensive endeavor. Despite the costs, males of some some wolf spiders species have evolved complex displays that incorporate signals from multiple sensory modalities (visual, vibrational, and near-field). We are investigating the selective pressures that have driven the evolution of these complex displays and the costs and benefits associated with using these dynamic displays.
You can view many examples of the species-specific courtship displays on our YouTube channel!
A male Schizocosa saltatrix spider displays to a female (foreground). His display includes black pigmentation on his first pair of walking legs, visual leg waving components, as well as multiple vibrational signals.