Experimental exposure to anthropogenic noise disrupts early-stage prey localization in the orb-weaving spider Argiope trifasciata

Abstract Anthropogenic noise can disrupt how predators use environmental cues to detect and localize prey. In vertebrates, noise pollution has been shown to reduce foraging efficiency and alter predator–prey dynamics through masking and distraction; much less is known about how acoustic noise influences invertebrate predation where significant sensory filtering occurs outside the central nervous system. Here, we investigate how an added anthropogenic noise affects prey capture behavior in the orb-weaving banded garden spider ( Argiope trifasciata) . In a controlled laboratory setting, spiders were exposed to playback of recorded traffic noise while live crickets jumped into their webs. We quantified prey detection latency, approach behavior, and attack execution using high-speed videography. Spiders exposed to acoustic noise responded slower to prey compared to control spiders hunting in quiet conditions and noise-exposed spiders also showed increased variability in duration of predation attempts. However, once spiders initiated an approach to prey, their attack execution times were comparable across treatments. This suggests that anthropogenic noise primarily interferes with early-stage prey detection and localization in web‑building spiders, likely by masking biologically relevant vibratory cues. As spiders rely on peripheral sensory filtering before signals reach the central nervous system, such interference may alter how prey information is processed at the onset rather than during later motor execution. Our results provide a foundational baseline suggest that human-made noise can disrupt essential behaviors in invertebrate predators, such as the ability to detect and capture prey. This interference could alter predator-prey interactions in natural habitats, a significant indirect impact of urbanization.