Examinando por Materia "Venom"
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- PublicaciónAcceso abiertoAspectos metabólicos del comportamiento depredador de hembras y machos de la araña Phoneutria boliviensis(Universidad de Ibagué, 2019) Suárez Benítez, Carlos Eduardo; Franco Pérez, Lida Marcela; Valenzuela Rojas, Juan Carlos
- PublicaciónSólo datosPrey and Venom Ecacy of Male and Female Wandering Spider, Phoneutria boliviensis (Araneae: Ctenidae)(Toxins, 2019-10-27) Valenzuela-Rojas, Juan Carlos; González Gómez, Julio César; Van der Meijden, Arie; Guevara, Giovany; Cortés, Juan Nicolás; Franco Pérez, Lida M.; Pekar, Stano; García, StanoSpiders rely on venom to catch prey and few species are even capable of capturing vertebrates. The majority of spiders are generalist predators, possessing complex venom, in which different toxins seem to target different types of prey. In this study, we focused on the trophic ecology and venom toxicity of Phoneutria boliviensis F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897, a Central American spider of medical importance. We tested the hypothesis that its venom is adapted to catch vertebrate prey by studying its trophic ecology and venom toxicity against selected vertebrate and invertebrate prey. We compared both trophic ecology (based on acceptance experiments) and toxicity (based on bioassays) among sexes of this species. We found that P. boliviensis accepted geckos, spiders, and cockroaches as prey, but rejected frogs. There was no difference in acceptance between males and females. The venom of P. boliviensis was far more efficient against vertebrate (geckos) than invertebrate (spiders) prey in both immobilization time and LD50. Surprisingly, venom of males was more efficient than that of females. Our results suggest that P. boliviensis has adapted its venom to catch vertebrates, which may explain its toxicity to humans. Key Contribution: Traditionally, the toxicity of medically significant spiders has been explained from a defensive perspective. Here, we offer a new perspective, by comparing prey capture and toxicity in males and females of the spider Phoneutria boliviensis against vertebrate and arthropod prey. We found that toxicity in P. boliviensis is higher against reptiles compared to arthropods, suggesting that high toxicity to humans is a side-effect of adaptation for the capture of vertebrate prey.
- PublicaciónSólo datosSexual dimorphism in the biomechanical and toxicological performance in prey incapacitation of two morphologically distinct scorpion species (Chactas sp. and Centruroides sp.)(Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2020-01-01) González-Gómez, Julio César; Valenzuela-Rojas, Juan Carlos; García, Luis Fernando; Franco Pérez, Lida Marcela; Guevara, Giovany; Buitrago, Sandra; Cubillos, Alisson; Van Der Meijden, ArieMorphological differences between the sexes are a common feature in many groups of animals and can have important ecological implications for courtship, mating, access to prey and, in some cases, intersex niche partitioning. In this study, we evaluated the role of sexual dimorphism in the performance of the two structures that mediate the ability to access prey, the pinchers or chelae and the venomous stinger, in two species of scorpions with contrasting morphologies: Chactas sp., which has marked sexual dimorphism in the chelae, and Centruroides sp., which does not have such marked dimorphism in the chelae. We evaluated aspects such as chela pinch force, toxicity to prey (LD50) and the volume of venom in males and females of each species. We found significant differences between males and females of Chactas sp. in the chela pinch force, volume of venom and LD50. In contrast, for Centruroides sp., no differences between males and females were found in any of these traits. We discuss several potential selective regimes that could account for the pattern observed.