Design of a home-made, low-cost system for studies of vibratory courtship signals on Pardosa Sierra (Areneae: Lycosidae) spiders

Spiders possess peculiarities that make them attractive for the study of evolutionary phenomena such as adaptation and specialization. Among these processes, reproductive behavior (particularly courtship) is a main factor, allowing or preventing recognition between potential partners. Spiders sense their environment and communicate using chemical, visual and acoustical/vibrational signals. The study of the nature, variation and content of these signals, provides useful information to understand the role of communication in the formation of species. Vibrational signals excel in importance in the majority of spider families and have been previously studied, especially in leaf-living spiders, using non-contact laser Doppler vibrometers or accelerometers (adding extra mass to the system) coupled to charge amplifiers. Unfortunately, cost and availability of this equipment have limited the widespread of studies in this area. This paper describes how to build an alternative low-cost system for the study of vibrational signals on spiders, and presents the analysis of the acquired vibratory courtship signals of Pardosa sierra, a rocky substrate-dwelling lycosid spider.