ANTI-HERBIVORE PROTECTION BY MUTUALISTIC SPIDERS AND THE ROLE OF PLANT GLANDULAR TRICHOMES.

Although specific associations between spiders and particular types of plants have been reported for several taxonomic groups, their consequences for spiders and plants are still poorly understood. The most common South American lynx spiders, Peucetia flava and P. rubrolineata, live strictly associated with various plant species that have glandular trichomes.

Trait-mediated effects on flowers: artificial spiders deceive pollinators and decrease plant fitness.

Although predators can affect foraging behaviors of floral visitors, rarely is it known if these top-down effects of predators may cascade to plant fitness through trait-mediated interactions. In this study we manipulated artificial crab spiders on flowers of Rubus rosifolius to test the effects of predation risk on flower-visiting insects and strength of trait-mediated indirect effects to plant fitness. In addition, we tested which predator traits (e.