J. N. Pruitt

Dispersal behaviour as the outcome and trigger of multilevel selection in a social spider

The paper introduces an individual-based model to study dispersal behavior in social spiders, showing it is both a result and trigger of multilevel selection.

Behavioral and physiological evidence that increasing group size ameliorates the impacts of social disturbance

The paper shows that larger group sizes reduce the negative impacts of social disturbance in Neolamprologus pulcher fish through behavioral and physiological evidence.

Comparative genomics identifies putative signatures of sociality in spiders

This study identifies genomic signatures of sociality in spiders by comparing social and solitary species, finding expanded gene families and accelerated evolution in social species.

Orb-weaving spiders show a correlated syndrome of morphology and web structure in the wild

The paper examines the correlation between morphology and web structure in wild orb-weaving spiders, finding a syndrome linking body size to web traits and behavioral responses.

Collective behaviour is not robust to disturbance, yet parent and offspring colonies resemble each other in social spiders

The paper examines how collective foraging aggressiveness in social spider colonies responds to disturbances and whether parent-offspring colonies resemble each other in this behavior.

Resting networks and personality predict attack speed in social spiders

The paper examines how resting social network structures and individual boldness traits predict attack speed in social spiders, finding that network position and boldness interact to influence collective predation behavior.

Predator-induced selection on urchin activity level depends on urchin body size

The paper tests how urchin activity level and body size affect survival against predators, finding activity level negatively impacts survival, especially for smaller urchins.

DIVISION OF LABOR INCREASES WITH COLONY SIZE, REGARDLESS OF GROUP COMPOSITION, IN THE SOCIAL SPIDER STEGODYPHUS DUMICOLA

The paper shows that division of labor increases with colony size in social spiders, regardless of group composition, similar to eusocial insects.

Multilevel selection in groups of groups

The paper examines multilevel selection in social spider colonies, finding that within-cluster competition and between-cluster selection depend on the number of rival colonies and colony aggressiveness.

Population differences in aggression are shaped by cyclone-induced selection

The paper shows that tropical cyclones drive the evolution of more aggressive spider societies by selecting for aggression in group-living spiders.

COLLECTIVE AGGRESSIVENESS LIMITS COLONY PERSISTENCE IN HIGH BUT NOT LOW ELEVATION SITES IN AMAZONIAN SOCIAL SPIDERS

The paper examines how collective aggressiveness in social spider colonies affects their persistence at different elevation sites in the Amazon, finding that less aggressive colonies persist better at high elevations.

Foundress Number, But Not Queen Size Or Boldness, Predicts Colony Life-History In Wild Paper Wasps

The paper examines colony life-history traits in two paper wasp species, finding that foundress number predicts productivity, while queen size and boldness do not.