Phenological and ecological aspects shaping the population of the spider *Leucauge argyra* (Tetragnathidae) and its interaction with Darwin's wasp *Hymenoepimecis pinheirensis* (Ichneumonidae)

• Grant number: 24/16609-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: João Vasconcellos Neto
• Grantee: Anna Luiza Oliveira Martins
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Studies on population dynamics include the variation in the distribution of organisms in space and time as a function of intrinsic and extrinsic attributes. Orb-weaving spiders are targeted by parasitic wasps of the Polysphincta genus group, which typically maintain species-specific associations and can manipulate the web-building behavior of their hosts. Interactions that deviate from this species-specific pattern, although rare, help in understanding evolutionary aspects of behavioral manipulation in arthropods. Our aim is to investigate the population ecology and behaviors involved in the interaction between the polysphinctine wasp *Hymenoepimecis pinheirensis* and the orb-weaving spider *Leucauge argyra* in an urban park. We will describe the biology and natural history of the interaction, testing the hypothesis that wasps exhibit host selection and manipulate their hosts' behavior by inducing the construction of modified, more stable webs resembling the spider's molting webs. In our ecological approach, we will study how biotic and abiotic factors shape the population fluctuation and phenology of an anthropogenic population of *L. argyra*. Through circular statistics and time-lag analysis, we will assess how the variables behave over time and correlate with each other. The combination of ecological and behavioral approaches, as well as the choice of an urban environment as a study area, aims to broaden our understanding of resource-consumer interactions and fill important knowledge gaps regarding parasitoid-host interactions.