Pace-of-Life Syndrome (PoLS) links physiology, behavior, and life history to understand how an organism lives and is under-researched in many invertebrate groups. In this study I used five tarantula species to assess if they follow the predictions of PoLS. I compared individual species as well as Old- and New-World lineages and solitary and sub-social species. I predicted that Old- World and sub-social species would have higher resting metabolic rates (RMRs) and activity levels compared to New-World and solitary species. RMRs were measured using an open-flow respirometry system, and a classic open-arena test was used to assess activity level. Spearman’s correlation determined that there were significant correlations between activity levels and RMR which followed PoLS predictions. I concluded these tarantula species followed the PoLS hypothesis although not all trends were significant. This is novel research and provides a strong foundation for future research studies within this area.
","abstract_html":"<p>Pace-of-Life Syndrome (PoLS) links physiology, behavior, and life history to understand how an organism lives and is under-researched in many invertebrate groups. In this study I used five tarantula species to assess if they follow the predictions of PoLS. I compared individual species as well as Old- and New-World lineages and solitary and sub-social species. I predicted that Old- World and sub-social species would have higher resting metabolic rates (RMRs) and activity levels compared to New-World and solitary species. RMRs were measured using an open-flow respirometry system, and a classic open-arena test was used to assess activity level. Spearman’s correlation determined that there were significant correlations between activity levels and RMR which followed PoLS predictions. I concluded these tarantula species followed the PoLS hypothesis although not all trends were significant. This is novel research and provides a strong foundation for future research studies within this area.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["VanScoyoc, Haley"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Cara Shillington, Ph.D.","Steven Francoeur, Ph.D.","Allen Kurta, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z","subjects":["New-world","Old-world","Pace-of-life","Solitary","Subsocial","Tarantula","Biology","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology","Zoology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1114","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Cara Shillington, Ph.D.","Steven Francoeur, Ph.D.","Allen Kurta, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["VanScoyoc, Haley"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-02-07T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["New-world","Old-world","Pace-of-life","Solitary","Subsocial","Tarantula","Biology","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology","Zoology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1114"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Pace-of-Life Syndrome (PoLS) links physiology, behavior, and life history to understand how an organism lives and is under-researched in many invertebrate groups. In this study I used five tarantula species to assess if they follow the predictions of PoLS. I compared individual species as well as Old- and New-World lineages and solitary and sub-social species. I predicted that Old- World and sub-social species would have higher resting metabolic rates (RMRs) and activity levels compared to New-World and solitary species. RMRs were measured using an open-flow respirometry system, and a classic open-arena test was used to assess activity level. Spearman’s correlation determined that there were significant correlations between activity levels and RMR which followed PoLS predictions. I concluded these tarantula species followed the PoLS hypothesis although not all trends were significant. This is novel research and provides a strong foundation for future research studies within this area.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Assessing pace-of-life: Comparing metabolism and behavior in tarantulas"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Cara Shillington, Ph.D.","Steven Francoeur, Ph.D.","Allen Kurta, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["VanScoyoc, Haley"],"dc:date.available":["2022-02-07T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Pace-of-Life Syndrome (PoLS) links physiology, behavior, and life history to understand how an organism lives and is under-researched in many invertebrate groups. In this study I used five tarantula species to assess if they follow the predictions of PoLS. I compared individual species as well as Old- and New-World lineages and solitary and sub-social species. I predicted that Old- World and sub-social species would have higher resting metabolic rates (RMRs) and activity levels compared to New-World and solitary species. RMRs were measured using an open-flow respirometry system, and a classic open-arena test was used to assess activity level. Spearman’s correlation determined that there were significant correlations between activity levels and RMR which followed PoLS predictions. I concluded these tarantula species followed the PoLS hypothesis although not all trends were significant. This is novel research and provides a strong foundation for future research studies within this area.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1114"],"dc:subject":["New-world","Old-world","Pace-of-life","Solitary","Subsocial","Tarantula","Biology","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology","Zoology"],"dc:title":["Assessing pace-of-life: Comparing metabolism and behavior in tarantulas"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z"}