Building extended phenotypes using incomplete environmental information compromises their design and efficiency.

Animals often face high uncertainty regarding their environment, which might lead to behavioral decisions based on incomplete information. The consequences of using incomplete information are likely exacerbated for animals with “sessile” extended phenotypes (nests, webs, traps). However, such consequences or their fitness implications remain largely unexplored. We examined how incomplete information about soil properties impacts the design and prey capture efficiency of conical pit traps in a sit-and-wait predator, the antlion larvae Myrmeleon crudelis. We experimentally found that (1) Larvae constructed traps with steeper angles of repose than expected for the sand substrate, suggesting that they can manipulate the soil to enhance the trap’s efficiency. (2) When presented with two different soils (all fine-grain vs fine-grain top and coarse-grain bottom), larvae built a pit trap in either one, suggesting that they do not integrate the soil profiles during building. (3) Building traps i..., , # Building extended phenotypes using incomplete environmental information compromises their design and efficiency.

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.b8gtht7q9](10.5061/dryad.b8gtht7q9)

## Description of the data and file structure

### FILE \"Pit_field_lab_over_time\"

OVERALL DESCRIPTION:
\"This file contains the data regarding the antlion larvae pit trap dimensions in the field\"
Note:\"NA\" means data that was not available to gather.

COLUMN EXPLANATION

* Site: the specific location where the pit traps were measured. The options were three sites in which we measured larvae.
* Individual: each individual measured
* Field_pit_diameter: mm value the pit trap diameter
* Field_pit_ratio: mm value of pit trap ratio
* Field_pit_depth: mm value of the maximum depth of each pit trap
* Field_tan_angle: degrees measures of the tan angle of each pit trap
* Field_beta_angle: degrees measures of the beta angle of each pit trap
* Field_alpha_angle: degrees measures of the alpha angle of each pit trap
* Pit...,