Sticky flatworms (Platyhelminthes) kill armored harvestmen (Arachnida, Opiliones) but are not immune to the preys weapons

Autor(es)

Silva, M. S. ^[1] ; Willemart, R. H. ^{[1, 2, 3, 4]} ; Carbayo, F. ^{[1, 2]}

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Escola Artes Ciencias & Humanidades, Lab Ecol & Evolucao, Rua Arlindo Bettio 1000, BR-03828000 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Programa Posgrad Zool, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Programa Posgrad Ecol & Evolucao, Campus Diadema, Diadema, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, LESCA, Escola Artes Ciencias & Humanidades, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY; v. 306, n. 2, p. 88-94, OCT 2018.
• Citações Web of Science: 2

Resumo

Asking how prey respond to different species of predators helps understanding the repertoire of defenses prey exhibit. This approach may also add to the knowledge on the efficiency of prey's defenses against each predator and allows studying the costs of being attacked by different predators. Here, we studied interactions between the predatory terrestrial flatworm Cephaloflexa bergi and the harvestman Mischonyx cuspidatus. The flatworm quickly strikes at the prey's leg with its head, then crawls towards the prey's body releasing mucus and thus subdues the harvestman. Harvestmen may release defensive chemicals and pinch the flatworm with spines on legs IV, sometimes cutting the predator in two pieces. We also experimentally assessed the benefits of harvestmen' defense and the cost of being attacked by testing whether the chemical defense of the harvestmen is efficient against the flatworm and whether the harvestmen that had survived a flatworm attack would have their locomotion abilities hampered. Both hypotheses were corroborated. Previous studies on interactions between harvestmen and other predators, such as spiders and scorpions, had shown that defensive secretions and mechanical retaliation were seldom used and were often ineffective. Our results point to the exact opposite and suggest that different predators exert different selective pressures culminating in the array of defenses exhibited by the prey. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 15/01518-9 - Morfologia, sistemática, química e comportamentos associados a glândulas e quimiorreceptores em opiliões laniatores (Arachnida, Opiliones)
• Beneficiário: Rodrigo Hirata Willemart
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 16/18295-5 - Diversidade e áreas de endemismos de planárias terrestres no Sul da Mata Atlântica e seus fatores causais
• Beneficiário: Fernando Jesús Carbayo Baz
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular