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5 - Communication
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- By Gabriele Uhl, University of Greifswald, Germany, Damian O. Elias, University of California, USA
- Edited by Marie Elisabeth Herberstein, Macquarie University, Sydney
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- Book:
- Spider Behaviour
- Published online:
- 05 June 2012
- Print publication:
- 27 January 2011, pp 127-189
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- Chapter
- Export citation
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Summary
A spider's life is guided by sensory information completely alien to human observers unless specialised equipment is applied. Even in the case of spiders guided by vision, a sensory mode that humans can boast great acuity in, a large body of evidence suggests that spiders are most sensitive to ultraviolet light, light completely imperceptible to humans. The spider's world is thus unknown and only in the last two decades have researchers begun to make strides into understanding these fascinating creatures. Communication research has been a critical piece of the puzzle in our embryonic understanding of spiders. Although spiders generally live a solitary life, it has long been accepted that communication plays an important role throughout their lifetime. Spiders are now the subjects of intensive scientific research as it becomes more and more obvious that their communication systems are unique, highly complex, plastic and versatile.
Introduction
Generally, communication takes place when a signal is sent from one individual to another that alters the pattern of behaviour or the physiology in another organism (Wilson, 1975). Three processes are required for communication: the production of a signal or cue by a sender, its propagation through the environment via a transmission channel, and appropriate receptor sites to detect the signal by the receiver. The transmission channels used by spiders are chemical, tactile, acoustic and visual channels (Weygoldt, 1977, Witt and Rovner, 1982).