Reversed cannibalism, foraging, and surface activities of Allocosa alticeps and Allocosa brasiliensis: two wolf spiders from coastal sand dunes

Environments where prey availability is scarce or highly variable have been reported as potential settings for the Occurrence of paternal investment and sex-role reversal (choosy males and competitive, courting females). Allocosa brasiliensis (Petrunkevitch 1910) and Allocosa alticeps (Mello-Leitao 1944) are two sand-dwelling wolf spiders that construct burrows along the Uruguayan coastline. Both species present a reversal in typical sex roles and size dimorphism. In the present study, we investigated foraging behavior and population density of both species by performing monthly samplings at the field during one year. Both Allocosa are general and highly opportunistic predators, varying their diet according to prey availability. The three most represented common prey belonged to Araneae, Diptera, and Hymenoptera (Formicidae). There were high levels of cannibalism in A. brasiliensis and, furthermore, males were observed frequently preying on conspecific adult females. Our discussion of the results based on hypotheses about food limitation and sex-role reversal contributes to our understanding of Allocosa species and establishes them as models for future evolutionary, behavioral, and ecological studies.