ABSTRACT BOOK Canterbury, New Zealand 10–15 February 2019 21st International Congress of Arachnology ORGANISING COMMITTEE MAIN ORGANISERS Cor Vink Peter Michalik Curator of Natural History Curator of the Zoological Museum Canterbury Museum University of Greifswald Rolleston Avenue, Christchurch Loitzer Str 26, Greifswald New Zealand Germany LOCAL ORGANISING COMMITTEE Ximena Nelson (University of Canterbury) Adrian Paterson (Lincoln University) Simon Pollard (University of Canterbury) Phil Sirvid (Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa) Victoria Smith (Canterbury Museum) SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE Anita Aisenberg (IICBE, Uruguay) Miquel Arnedo (University of Barcelona, Spain) Mark Harvey (Western Australian Museum, Australia) Mariella Herberstein (Macquarie University, Australia) Greg Holwell (University of Auckland, New Zealand) Marco Isaia (University of Torino, Italy) Lizzy Lowe (Macquarie University, Australia) Anne Wignall (Massey University, New Zealand) Jonas Wolff (Macquarie University, Australia) 21st International Congress of Arachnology 1 INVITED SPEAKERS Plenary talk, day 1 Sensory systems, learning, and communication – insights from amblypygids to humans Eileen Hebets University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska, USA E-mail: [email protected] Arachnids encompass tremendous diversity with respect to their morphologies, their sensory systems, their lifestyles, their habitats, their mating rituals, and their interactions with both conspecifics and heterospecifics. As such, this group of often-enigmatic arthropods offers unlimited and sometimes unparalleled opportunities to address fundamental questions in ecology, evolution, physiology, neurobiology, and behaviour (among others). Amblypygids (Order Amblypygi), for example, possess distinctly elongated walking legs covered with sensory hairs capable of detecting both airborne and substrate-borne chemical stimuli, as well as mechanoreceptive information. Simultaneously, they display an extraordinary central nervous system with distinctly large and convoluted higher order processing centres called mushroom bodies. With respect to these under-explored, yet intriguing, animals, I will highlight how studies focused on basic behaviour, natural history, and neuroanatomy can lend insight into fundamental and generalizable scientific understanding. I will do this by discussing my research, conducted in collaboration with colleagues, which pertains to the link between the amblyypygid’s unique sensory morphology, nervous system, and complex behaviour, including learned behaviour. Additionally, I will use my research on the North American wolf spider genus Schizocosa, and potentially the fishing spider genera Dolomedes and Pisaurina, to demonstrate how spider reproductive behaviour can help scientists understand basic processes and mechanisms underlying divergence in reproductive tactics and ultimately speciation. Finally, I will show how the wonders of arachnid biology, combined with creative visual aids and active educational techniques, can inspire not only arachnid conservation, but also the next generation of science professionals; including arachnologists. Young Arachnologist: Oral presentation, day 1 The evolution of diverse animal weapons Chrissie J. Painting¹; Glauco Machado2, Gonzalo Giribet3, Kate Sheridan3, Erin Powell1, Gregory I. Holwell1 ¹Univeristy of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; ²Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, ³Harvard University, Cambridge, USA E-mail: [email protected] Weapons, exaggerated structures used by males to increase mating opportunities, are among the most elaborate and diverse structures in animals, but we know very little about the mechanisms driving their evolution. Comparative approaches that determine patterns of weapon evolution across a group of closely related species can help us understand why weapons are so diverse. We are investigating the factors driving weapon diversity in a group of endemic New Zealand arachnids, the neopilionid harvestmen. Males bear extremely exaggerated chelicerae, which are correspondingly much reduced in size in females. The degree and form of chelicerae exaggeration varies drastically both within and between species. 21st International Congress of Arachnology 2 As well a striking range of chelicerae size and shape among species, several species also exhibit chelicerae polymorphism, where males can possess reduced female-like chelicerae or one of two exaggerated morphs (long slender or short broad chelicerae). Using a phylogenetic framework coupled micro-CT imaging to quantify 3D shape variation, we elucidate patterns of weapon divergence across this group to determine how these extreme traits have evolved. Young Arachnologist: Oral presentation, day 1 Evolution of palpimanoid spiders: bizarre morphologies, unusual behaviours, and extreme speeds Hannah Wood Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C, USA E-mail: [email protected] Morphological diversity may be redundant in relation to function, that is, different morphological solutions may evolve to produce similar performances. Thus, in order to understand how morphological diversification occurs it is crucial to first understand the link between form and function. The palpimanoid spiders have restricted distributions, exhibit strikingly deviant morphological, behavioural, and ecological traits, and are an ancient lineage with a fossil record. In particular, in palpimanoids, the novel and unusual modifications of the cephalicarea and chelicerae may allow these spiders to capture prey in innovative ways. They are an excellent group for addressing questions about how a specific trait functions, which in turn, may allow for examination of broader macroevolutionary questions about how these traits (as well as lineages) diversify. My talk will be a discussion of our current understanding of cheliceral function and morphology in palpimanoids, which has been enhanced by Computed- Tomography scanning techniques for visualization of minute internal structures. Additionally, I’ll talk about how the extensive fossil record in palpimanoids has allowed for the examination of shifts in morphological diversity over time. Finally, the study of morphological evolution is confounded by distribution patterns, and I’ll discuss research about the interplay between trait evolution and biogeography patterns. Young Arachnologist: Oral presentation, day 1 The promises of next generation sequencing technology for high throughput assessment of spider diversity Henrik Krehenwinkel Department of Biogeography, University Trier, Germany; Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, USA E-mail: [email protected] Next generation sequencing (NGS) technology has revolutionised evolutionary biology and ecology in the past decade and enabled unprecedented insights into the structure of the tree of life and the genetic basis of speciation and local adaptation. NGS based DNA barcoding protocols have also greatly simplified the analysis of species diversity and interactions in biological communities. Using Hawaiian spider communities, we here present different NGS based tools for rapid, cost-efficient and large-scale analysis of taxonomy, biogeography and species interactions. Home to impressive and diverse adaptive radiations, the Hawaiian Archipelago is a biodiversity hotspot of global importance. In conjunction with its geographic isolation and well-known geology, the island chain is also considered a natural laboratory for 21st International Congress of Arachnology 3 the study of island biogeography. Although much of the Hawaiian biodiversity is comprised of arthropods, very little is known about diversification and assembly of Hawaiian arthropod communities. The emerging technologies of next generation sequencing now allow for unprecedented insights into the process of community assembly. Here, we present results from the application NGS to multi-locus phylogenetic and taxonomic analyses of mixed spider community samples. Using metabarcoding protocols, we acquire qualitative and quantitative data of the species composition within and across communities on the Hawaiian Islands. In addition, we introduce novel approaches to study the feeding ecology of spiders in great detail. Combining gut content analysis and microbial community sequencing, we then present results on the effect of diet on the gut microbial communities associated with spiders. Plenary talk, day 2 Spider phylogenetics and evolution – beyond the trees Martín J. Ramírez Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales – CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina E-mail: [email protected] Spider systematics has advanced tremendously in the last years from phylogenetic analyses of sequence data, mainly anonymous in terms of phenotype. For the first time the phylogenies are relatively robust and easy to obtain, yet the evolutionary implications for functional morphology, behaviour and biogeography are only slowly emerging. For those who are not systematists it is difficult to digest the phylogenies that are published year after year, and for systematists it is not easy to understand or elaborate on the evolutionary implications of their discoveries. In this talk I will try to summarise a personal view of some important advances in spider systematics and how they are linked to general questions of functional anatomy and behaviour. Then I will discuss how is it like to investigate the historical biogeography of spiders from a peripheral