Abstract
Harvestmen are considered excellent models for investigating defensive behavior, as they can demonstrate primary mechanisms, such as cryptic coloration, and secondary mechanisms, such as the release of odoriferous substances. In our study, we investigated whether the time of the day and sexual dimorphism influence the defensive strategies of the gonyleptid harvestman Pseudopucrolia discrepans (Roewer, 1943). The behavioral trials were carried out with 60 harvestmen (30 males and 30 females) collected from an Atlantic Rainforest fragment in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Of these, 15 males and 15 females were tested during the day and the other 15 males and 15 females were tested at night. The trials simulated attacks by predators and in response to them, P. discrepans demonstrated six different defensive behaviors: freezing, pinching, chemical release, body shaking, thanatosis, and fleeing. During the day, males and females did not show differences in the frequency of the use of defensive behaviors. However, at night, females stood out in relation to males. Thus, we were able to demonstrate that the period of the day influences the behavioral differences in both sexes of P. discrepans.
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Data will be available upon request to authors.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Fundação de Apoio a Pesquisa do Estado da Paraíba (FAPESQ) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico for the postdoctoral scholarship (PDCTR 300104/2022-7) to AFAL. We also thank to three anonymous reviewers for their valuables comments in the previous version of the manuscript.
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Lins, A.H., Lira, A.F. & DeSouza, A.M. Variations in defensive behaviors according to diel period and sex in a litter-dwelling harvestman Pseudopucrolia discrepans (Opiliones: Gonyleptidae). Biologia 78, 2085–2090 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11756-023-01321-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11756-023-01321-w