Wolf spiders 'sing' to win the hearts of mates

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Spiders might not be thought of as musical creatures, but a new study from the University of Cincinnati could change that.

Being presented this week at the annual meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, the new study revealed that male wolf spiders use their legs to generate a purring sound when trying to woo a female.

The study team said their work offers clues to how animals evolved to use sound as a means of communication. The researchers said they started their work based on knowledge that wolf spiders, and many other spiders, have sensory organs in their legs that they use to detect vibrations caused by the movement of prey and predators.

“I decided I wanted to find out whether this species was using airborne sound to communicate,” study team member Alexander Sweger told BBC News.

Good vibrations

The researchers started by placing male spiders on various surfaces and documenting the sound they made. Using scent cues from females, the scientists were able to make male wolf spiders to ‘purr’ by dragging a unique comb-like organ across the surface below them.

The team then recorded and replayed the sound to female spiders, which meant the females were subjected only to the airborne sound, as opposed to the sound and physical vibrations. The team found the serenade would only work if the wolf spiders were on leaf-like surfaces that vibrated readily.

“We found that it’s the (surface) itself that’s responsible for the airborne component of the sound,” Sweger said. “On granite or wood or dirt, you get little to no vibration and almost no sound. But on a leaf, or paper or parchment, you get vibration and you get the airborne sound.”

Study team member George Uetz added that the female wolf spiders “pick up vibrations” via the surface they are standing on, so “the sound is transmitted to them from leaf to leaf.”

The study team said their future work will aim to ascertain if the spiders can ‘sing’ through the forest floor, and if this behavior is in fact representative of the evolution of a primitive sound-based communication.

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