Spider webs behavior, function, and evolution / William Eberhard.
| Author/creator | Eberhard, William G. |
| Format | Electronic |
| Publication Info | Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 2020. |
| Description | 658 pages : illustrations ; 29 cm |
| Supplemental Content | Full text available from eBooks on EBSCOhost |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Introduction -- The "hardware" of web-building spiders: morphology, silk, and behavior -- Functions of orb web designs -- Putting pieces together: tradeoffs and remaining puzzles -- The building behavior of non-orb weavers -- The building behavior of orb-weavers -- Cues directing web construction behavior -- Web ecology and website selection -- Evolutionary patterns: an ancient success that produced high diversity and rampant convergence -- Ontogeny, modularity, and the evolution of web building. |
| Abstract | "Spider webs are considered by many to be the most spectacular structures of the natural world. Their designs, their creation, and their maintenance and utility are a wonderful way in which to explore intricacies of behavior and evolution. And no current scientist has spent more time in the webs than William Eberhard, of the Smithsonian; in fact he has likely watched more species of spider build webs than any other individual. He has written for spiders the equivalent of Kent Wells Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians, a work which will be the definitive reference on spider webs. In this book, Eberhard tours readers through all elements of webs-the types of silk, the ways in which it is spooled by the spider legs, how spiders choose web sites, the primary patterns webs follow, the varying degrees of time it takes to construct webs, why spiders rebuild webs, etc. And he unspools all that is known about the behavioral repertoires of the web designers, the spiders. In aggregate, Eberhard shows how close observations of behavior can answer large and small questions in biology regarding the functions of morphology and behavior, and how complexity and diversity arise in nature"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Access restriction | Available only to authorized users. |
| Technical details | Mode of access: World Wide Web |
| Genre/form | Electronic books. |
| LCCN | 2019050065 |
| ISBN | 9780226534602 (cloth) |
| ISBN | (ebook) |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronic Resources | Access Content Online | ✔ Available |