Mexican Colonial Web-Building Spiders Nest in Colonies That Range in Size

question 56

Multiple Choice

Mexican colonial web-building spiders nest in colonies that range in size from ten to thousands of individuals, with each individual occupying their own web within the colony. Colonies are frequently attacked by predatory wasps. Individuals in larger colonies suffer lower predation than those in smaller colonies. The data in the graph below are from a study performed by Uetz et al. (2002) , where they measured the distance at which spiders responded to potential predators. Open bars are for spiders on the interior, and colored bars are for spiders on the periphery of the colony. What type of grouping benefit is demonstrated here?

• A) dilution
• B) group defense
• C) increased vigilance
• D) cooperative foraging

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Definitions:

Insight

The ability to understand the inner nature of things or a situation in a clear and deep way, often leading to problem-solving.

Latent Learning

A process in which learning takes place, but there is no demonstration of that knowledge until a reward or incentive is presented.

Cognitive Mapping

The process by which individuals mentally acquire, code, store, recall, and decode information about the relative locations and attributes of phenomena in their everyday or metaphorical spatial environment.

Cognitive Map

A mental representation of one's physical environment and spatial relationships between objects.