1
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Baruffaldi L, Andrade MCB. Does female control and male mating system predict courtship investment and mating outcomes? A comparative study in five widow spider species (genus Latrodectus) tested under similar laboratory conditions. BMC Ecol Evol 2024; 24:86. [PMID: 38937685 PMCID: PMC11212240 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-024-02272-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Male courtship investment may evolve in response to the male's expectation of future mating opportunities or the degree of female control during mating interactions. We used a comparative approach to test this hypotheses by assessing the courtship and mating behaviors of five widow spider species (genus Latrodectus) under common laboratory conditions. We predicted male investment in courtship would be higher in species where males mate only once because of high cannibalism rates (monogyny, L. geometricus, L. hasselti, L. mirabilis), compared to species with rare cannibalism (L. mactans, L. hesperus) in which males should reserve energy for future mating opportunities. Increased male investment, measured as courtship duration, might also evolve with increased female control over mating outcomes if females prefer longer courtships. We tested this by assessing the frequency of copulations, timing of sexual cannibalism, and the degree of female-biased size dimorphism, which is expected to be negatively correlated with the energetic cost of rebuffing male mating attempts. RESULTS Copulation frequency was consistently lower in species with extreme female-skewed size dimorphism, and where sexual cannibalism was more prevalent, suggesting the importance of female control for mating outcomes. We confirmed significant interspecific variation in average courtship duration, but contrary to predictions, it was not predicted by male mating system, and there was no consistent link between courtship duration and sexual size dimorphism. CONCLUSION We show that the degree of sexual dimorphism is not only correlated with sexual cannibalism, but also with mating success since restriction of male copulation frequency by female Latrodectus affects paternity. However, predictions about male mating system or female control affecting courtship duration were not supported. We propose that the form of female control over mating and cannibalism, and male responses, might be more informative for understanding the evolution of courtship duration. For example, male tactics to avoid female aggression may drive lower courtship duration in species like L. mirabilis. Nonetheless, our results differ from inferences based on published studies of each species in isolation, illuminating the need for standardized data collection for behavioural comparative studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luciana Baruffaldi
- Departments of Biological Sciences and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada.
- Departamento de Ecología y Biología Evolutiva, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay.
| | - Maydianne C B Andrade
- Departments of Biological Sciences and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada
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2
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Rivas-Torres A, Di Pietro V, Cordero-Rivera A. Sex wars: a female genital spine forces male damselflies to shorten copulation duration. Evolution 2023:7142852. [PMID: 37172267 DOI: 10.1093/evolut/qpad073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Revised: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
In some species, males use weapons to harm females, increasing their short-term fitness. Here we show that females can use genital adaptations against males. Females of the damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum have a conspicuous vulvar spine on the eighth abdominal segment, which contacts with the male during copulation. We tested 3 hypotheses for its function: it (a) inflicts damage to the male during copulation; (b) facilitates endophytic oviposition; and (c) stimulates males during copulation to increase their investment. We found that males mated on average for 54 min with control females, but increased copulation to 99 min with females without spine. There was no evidence of physical harm of the spine on the male's seminal vesicle, which shows 8- to 18-folds, exactly where the spine contacts during copulation. Females with and without spine exhibited the same egg-laying rates and showed similar fecundity and fertility. Longevity was also similar in males mated to control and spineless females. In contrast to many species where females resist male harassment by behavioral responses, the morphological adaptation observed in E. cyathigerum appears to act as a sexual weapon, allowing females to control copulation duration. We suggest that the spine has evolved because of sexual conflict over mating duration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anais Rivas-Torres
- Universidade de Vigo, ECOEVO Lab, Depto. Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, E.E. Forestal, Pontevedra, Galiza, Spain
| | - Viviana Di Pietro
- Università degli Studi di Torino, Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, Torino, Italia
| | - Adolfo Cordero-Rivera
- Universidade de Vigo, ECOEVO Lab, Depto. Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, E.E. Forestal, Pontevedra, Galiza, Spain
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3
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Burke NW, Holwell G. Costs and benefits of polyandry in a sexually cannibalistic mantis. J Evol Biol 2023; 36:412-423. [PMID: 36537353 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Mating with more than one male often provides direct or indirect benefits to female fitness but can also increase the chance of injury and death. Costs of mating are expected to increase linearly with increasing mating number. But how such costs interact with benefits to determine the net payoff of mating multiply is not well understood. Using the highly cannibalistic Springbok mantis, Miomantis caffra, a species where females are stabbed in the abdomen by males during violent premating struggles that males initiate to avoid being cannibalized, we took an experimental approach to assess the economics of polyandry under the risk of external, male-inflicted injury. We predicted that females that mate multiply would be more likely to show abdominal injuries, have higher prereproductive mortality, produce fewer offspring and be more likely to engage in pre-mating cannibalism to avoid unwanted matings. In line with our predictions, we found that the likelihood of abdominal injury was highest among females that mated at least once, and prereproductive death was highest among females that mated twice or three times. Virgin females completely avoided these costs and produced some offspring parthenogenetically but not enough to provide a net benefit. Although mating was better than not mating, there was no singularly optimal mating number: females that mated once and three times produced similarly high numbers of offspring from the first ootheca, which resulted in an intermediate trough in offspring production at two matings. We also found little evidence that cannibalism was deployed as a mate-avoidance strategy: females consistently attacked and consumed males regardless of how many times they mated or how long they were housed with males. Our results suggest the possibility of two distinct mating strategies in M. caffra, where females either mate at a lower frequency to minimize costs or at a higher frequency to maximize benefits. We discuss possible explanations for this bimodal pattern in offspring production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan W Burke
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.,Institute of Cell and Systems Biology of Animals, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Gregory Holwell
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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4
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Angelakakis A, Turetzek N, Tuni C. Female mating rates and their fitness consequences in the common house spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9678. [PMID: 36590337 PMCID: PMC9797470 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Mating systems, with varying female mating rates occurring with the same partner (monandry) or with multiple mates (polyandry), can have far reaching consequences for population viability and the rate of gene flow. Here, we investigate the mating rates of the common house spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum (Theridiidae), an emerging model for genetic studies, with yet undescribed reproductive behavior. It is hypothesized that spiders belonging to this family have low re-mating rates. We paired females twice with the same male (monandry) or with different males (polyandry), and recorded behaviors, mating success and fitness resulting from single- and double-matings, either monandrous or polyandrous. Despite the study being explorative in nature, we predict successful matings to be more frequent during first encounters, to reduce female risk of remaining unmated. For re-mating to be adaptive, we expect higher fitness of double-mated females, and polyandrous females to experience highest mating success and fitness if reproductive gains are achieved by mating with multiple partners. We show that the majority of the females did not mate, and those that did mated only once, not necessarily on their first encounter. The likelihood of re-mating did not differ between monandrous and polyandrous encounters and female mating experience (mated once, twice monandrous, twice polyandrous) did not affect fitness, indicated by similar offspring production. Female twanging of the web leads to successful matings suggesting female behavioral receptivity. Cannibalism rates were low and mostly occurred pre-copulatory. We discuss how the species ecology, with potentially high mating costs for males and limited female receptivity, may shape a mating system with low mating rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Apostolos Angelakakis
- Behavioral Ecology, Faculty of BiologyLudwig‐Maximilians‐University MunichPlanegg‐MartinsriedGermany,Evolutionary Ecology, Faculty of BiologyLudwig‐Maximilians‐University MunichPlanegg‐MartinsriedGermany
| | - Natascha Turetzek
- Evolutionary Ecology, Faculty of BiologyLudwig‐Maximilians‐University MunichPlanegg‐MartinsriedGermany
| | - Cristina Tuni
- Behavioral Ecology, Faculty of BiologyLudwig‐Maximilians‐University MunichPlanegg‐MartinsriedGermany
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5
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Rose C, Kyneb S, Schou MF, Bechsgaard J, Bilde T. The role of inter-individual intolerance in group cohesion and the transition to sociality in spiders. J Evol Biol 2022; 35:1020-1026. [PMID: 35674385 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Conspecific tolerance is key for maintaining group cohesion in animals. Understanding shifts from conspecific tolerance to intolerance is therefore important for understanding transitions to sociality. Subsocial species disperse to a solitary lifestyle after a gregarious juvenile phase and display conspecific intolerance as adults as a mechanism to maintain a solitary living. The development of intolerance towards group members is hypothesized to play a role in dispersal decisions in subsocial species. One hypothesis posits that dispersal is triggered by factors such as food competition with the subsequent development of conspecific intolerance, rather than conspecific intolerance developing prior to and potentially driving dispersal. Consistent with this hypothesis, we show that intolerance (inferred by inter-individual distance) developed post-dispersal in the subsocial spider Stegodyphus lineatus. The development of conspecific intolerance was delayed when maintaining spiders in groups showing plasticity in this trait, which is advantageous when trade-offs are not fixed over time. However, major evolutionary transitions, such as the transition to sociality, can permanently modify trade-offs and cause derived adaptations by the evolution of new or modified traits or evolutionary loss of traits that become redundant. Sociality in spiders has evolved repeatedly from subsocial ancestors, and social life in family groups combined with a lack of interaction with competing groups suggests relaxed selection for the development of conspecific intolerance. In the social Stegodyphus sarasinorum we found no evidence for the development of conspecific intolerance, consistent with the loss of this trait. Instead, we found evidence for conspecific attraction, which is likely to govern group cohesion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clémence Rose
- Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Sarah Kyneb
- Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | | | | - Trine Bilde
- Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
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6
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Male mating strategies to counter sexual conflict in spiders. Commun Biol 2022; 5:534. [PMID: 35655093 PMCID: PMC9163124 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03512-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
When sexual conflict selects for reproductive strategies that only benefit one of the sexes, evolutionary arms races may ensue. Female sexual cannibalism is an extreme manifestation of sexual conflict. Here we test two male mating strategies aiming at countering sexual cannibalism in spiders. The “better charged palp” hypothesis predicts male selected use of the paired sexual organ (palp) containing more sperm for their first copulation. The “fast sperm transfer” hypothesis predicts accelerated insemination when cannibalism is high. Our comparative tests on five orbweb spider species with varying levels of female sexual cannibalism and sexual size dimorphism (SSD) reveal that males choose the palp with more sperm for the first copulation with cannibalistic females and that males transfer significantly more sperm if females are cannibalistic or when SSD is biased. By supporting the two hypotheses, these results provide credibility for male mating syndrome. They, however, open new questions, namely, how does a male differentiate sperm quantities between his palps? How does he perform palp choice after assessing his cannibalistic partner? By conducting follow-up experiments on Nephilengys malabarensis, we reveal that it is sperm volume detection, rather than left-right palp dominance, that plays prominently in male palp choice. Male spiders make choices about how to maximise their mating success when at risk of cannibalisation by females.
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7
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Riesch R, Araújo MS, Bumgarner S, Filla C, Pennafort L, Goins TR, Lucion D, Makowicz AM, Martin RA, Pirroni S, Langerhans RB. Resource competition explains rare cannibalism in the wild in livebearing fishes. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8872. [PMID: 35600676 PMCID: PMC9109233 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Revised: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Rüdiger Riesch
- Department of Biological Sciences Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour Royal Holloway University of London Egham UK
| | - Márcio S. Araújo
- Instituto de Biociências Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) Rio Claro Brazil
| | - Stuart Bumgarner
- Department of Biological Sciences North Carolina State University Raleigh North Carolina USA
| | - Caitlynn Filla
- Department of Biological Sciences North Carolina State University Raleigh North Carolina USA
- Department of Anthropology University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA
| | - Laura Pennafort
- Department of Biological Sciences Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour Royal Holloway University of London Egham UK
| | - Taylor R. Goins
- Department of Biological Sciences North Carolina State University Raleigh North Carolina USA
| | - Darlene Lucion
- Department of Biological Sciences Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour Royal Holloway University of London Egham UK
| | - Amber M. Makowicz
- Department of Biological Sciences Florida State University Tallahassee Florida USA
| | - Ryan A. Martin
- Department of Biology Case Western Reserve University Cleveland Ohio USA
| | - Sara Pirroni
- Department of Biological Sciences Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour Royal Holloway University of London Egham UK
| | - R. Brian Langerhans
- Department of Biological Sciences North Carolina State University Raleigh North Carolina USA
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8
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Weiss K, Schneider JM. Female sex pheromone emission is affected by body condition, but not immune system function, in the orb‐web spider
Argiope bruennichi. Ethology 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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9
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Del Matto LA, Macedo-Rego RC, Santos ESA. Mate-guarding duration is mainly influenced by the risk of sperm competition and not by female quality in a golden orb-weaver spider. PeerJ 2021; 9:e12310. [PMID: 34733589 PMCID: PMC8544249 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Males are expected to mate with as many females as possible, but can maximize their reproductive success through strategic mating decisions. For instance, males can increase their own fitness by mating with high quality females that produce more offspring. Additionally, males can adjust mating effort based on the relative distribution of females and male competitors. To test factors that influence male mate choice, we assessed male mating decisions in the golden silk orb-weaver spider, Trichonephila clavipes (Nephilidae), a species in which females are polyandrous, males guard females before and after copulation occurs and large males are the most successful at guarding mates. We tested the hypothesis that males spend more time guarding high quality females that are spatially isolated, and when the risk of sperm competition is higher. We also hypothesized that this effect increases with male body size. We assessed solitary and aggregated female webs in the field and quantified female quality (i.e., female body condition), male size (i.e., male body size), the risk of sperm competition (i.e., number of males in each female web), and mate-guarding duration (i.e., number of days each male spent in each web). We found that mate-guarding behaviour is largely influenced by the presence of male competitors. In addition, male body size seems to moderately influence male guarding decisions, with larger males guarding for a longer time. Finally, female body condition and type of web (i.e., solitary or aggregated) seem to play small roles in mate-guarding behaviour. As mate-guarding duration increased by 0.718 day per each additional male competitor in the web, and guarding behaviour prevents males from seeking additional mates, it seems that guarding females can be considerably costly. We conclude that failing to guard a sexual partner promotes high costs derived from sperm competition, and a male cannot recover his relative loss in fertilization success by seeking and fertilizing more females. In addition, the search for more sexual partners can be constrained by possible high costs imposed by weight loss and fights against other males, which may explain why the type of web only moderately influenced male mate choice. Following the same rationale, if high-quality females are not easy to find and/or mating with a high-quality female demands much effort, males may search females and guard them regardless of female quality. In conclusion, the factor that most influences male mate-guarding behaviour among T. clavipes in the field is the risk of sperm competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lygia A Del Matto
- BECO do Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Renato C Macedo-Rego
- BECO do Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.,Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Eduardo S A Santos
- BECO do Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.,RH Lab, Banco Santander, São Paulo, Brazil
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10
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Gatchoff L, Stein LR. Venom and Social Behavior: The Potential of Using Spiders to Evaluate the Evolution of Sociality under High Risk. Toxins (Basel) 2021; 13:388. [PMID: 34071320 PMCID: PMC8227785 DOI: 10.3390/toxins13060388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Risks of sociality, including competition and conspecific aggression, are particularly pronounced in venomous invertebrates such as arachnids. Spiders show a wide range of sociality, with differing levels of cannibalism and other types of social aggression. To have the greatest chance of surviving interactions with conspecifics, spiders must learn to assess and respond to risk. One of the major ways risk assessment is studied in spiders is via venom metering, in which spiders choose how much venom to use based on prey and predator characteristics. While venom metering in response to prey acquisition and predator defense is well-studied, less is known about its use in conspecific interactions. Here we argue that due to the wide range of both sociality and venom found in spiders, they are poised to be an excellent system for testing questions regarding whether and how venom use relates to the evolution of social behavior and, in return, whether social behavior influences venom use and evolution. We focus primarily on the widow spiders, Latrodectus, as a strong model for testing these hypotheses. Given that successful responses to risk are vital for maintaining sociality, comparative analysis of spider taxa in which venom metering and sociality vary can provide valuable insights into the evolution and maintenance of social behavior under risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Gatchoff
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA;
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11
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Burke NW, Holwell GI. Increased male mating success in the presence of prey and rivals in a sexually cannibalistic mantis. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Precopulatory sexual cannibalism—or cannibalism without mating—is expected to promote the evolution of male strategies that enhance mating success and reduce the risk of cannibalism, such as preferentially approaching feeding females. Sexual selection on male competitiveness has the potential to alter male mating decisions in the face of cannibalism risk, but such effects are poorly understood. We investigated the effect of prey availability and male–male competition on mating incidence in the highly cannibalistic Springbok mantis, Miomantis caffra. We found that matings were initiated more rapidly and more often in the presence of prey, suggesting that females distracted with foraging may be less of a threat. Competition between males also hastened the onset of copulation and led to higher mating success, with very large effects occurring in the presence of both prey and competitors, indicating that intrasexual competition may intensify attraction to foraging females. Taken together, our results suggest that precopulatory cannibalism has selected for male preference for foraging females and that males adjust their mating strategy to both the risk of competition and the threat of cannibalism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan W Burke
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, 3A Symonds St, 1010 Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Gregory I Holwell
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, 3A Symonds St, 1010 Auckland, New Zealand
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12
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Burke NW, Holwell GI. Male coercion and female injury in a sexually cannibalistic mantis. Biol Lett 2021; 17:20200811. [PMID: 33465328 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual conflict can generate coercive traits in males that enhance mating success at the expense of female fitness. Pre-copulatory sexual cannibalism-where females consume males without mating-typically favours cautious rather than coercive mating tactics, and few examples of the latter are known. Here, we show that males of the highly cannibalistic springbok mantis, Miomantis caffra, wrestle females during pre-mating interactions. We find that most initial contacts between males and females involve a violent struggle whereby each sex tries be the first to grasp hold of the other with their raptorial forelegs. When females win the struggle, they always cannibalize males. However, when males grasp females first, they dramatically increase the chance of mating. We also find striking evidence that, on some occasions, males wound females with their fore-tibial claws during struggles, resulting in haemolymph loss and scar tissue formation. Taken together, our results show how males can overcome the threat of cannibalism by coercively wrestling females. We argue that pre-copulatory injury in this species is likely to be a negative pleiotropic side-effect of coercive mating behaviour and foraging morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan W Burke
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Gregory I Holwell
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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13
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Pompozzi G, Simó M. Hunger and territorial-dependent cannibalism in females of a South American species of wolf spider (Araneae: Lycosidae). STUDIES ON NEOTROPICAL FAUNA AND ENVIRONMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/01650521.2020.1728880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Pompozzi
- Sección Entomología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Miguel Simó
- Sección Entomología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
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14
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Oviedo‐Diego MA, Mattoni CI, Vrech DE, Michalik P, Peretti AV. The morphology of mating plugs and its formation in scorpions: Implications for intersexual participation. J Morphol 2020; 281:620-635. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.21125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Revised: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mariela A. Oviedo‐Diego
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología Córdoba Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Laboratorio de Biología Reproductiva y Evolución Córdoba Argentina
| | - Camilo I. Mattoni
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología Córdoba Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Laboratorio de Biología Reproductiva y Evolución Córdoba Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Físicas y Naturales, Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología Córdoba Argentina
| | - David E. Vrech
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología Córdoba Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Laboratorio de Biología Reproductiva y Evolución Córdoba Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Físicas y Naturales, Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología Córdoba Argentina
| | - Peter Michalik
- Zoological Institute and Museum, Universität Greifswald Greifswald Germany
| | - Alfredo V. Peretti
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología Córdoba Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Laboratorio de Biología Reproductiva y Evolución Córdoba Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Físicas y Naturales, Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología Córdoba Argentina
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15
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Cordellier M, Schneider JM, Uhl G, Posnien N. Sex differences in spiders: from phenotype to genomics. Dev Genes Evol 2020; 230:155-172. [PMID: 32052129 PMCID: PMC7127994 DOI: 10.1007/s00427-020-00657-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2019] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Sexual reproduction is pervasive in animals and has led to the evolution of sexual dimorphism. In most animals, males and females show marked differences in primary and secondary sexual traits. The formation of sex-specific organs and eventually sex-specific behaviors is defined during the development of an organism. Sex determination processes have been extensively studied in a few well-established model organisms. While some key molecular regulators are conserved across animals, the initiation of sex determination is highly diverse. To reveal the mechanisms underlying the development of sexual dimorphism and to identify the evolutionary forces driving the evolution of different sexes, sex determination mechanisms must thus be studied in detail in many different animal species beyond the typical model systems. In this perspective article, we argue that spiders represent an excellent group of animals in which to study sex determination mechanisms. We show that spiders are sexually dimorphic in various morphological, behavioral, and life history traits. The availability of an increasing number of genomic and transcriptomic resources and functional tools provides a great starting point to scrutinize the extensive sexual dimorphism present in spiders on a mechanistic level. We provide an overview of the current knowledge of sex determination in spiders and propose approaches to reveal the molecular and genetic underpinnings of sexual dimorphism in these exciting animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde Cordellier
- Department of Biology, Institute of Zoology, Universität Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King Platz 3, 20146, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Jutta M Schneider
- Department of Biology, Institute of Zoology, Universität Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King Platz 3, 20146, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Gabriele Uhl
- Zoological Institute and Museum, Research Group General and Systematic Zoology, Universität Greifswald, Loitzer Straße 26, 17489, Greifswald, Germany.
| | - Nico Posnien
- Department of Developmental Biology, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
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Kuntner M, Coddington JA. Sexual Size Dimorphism: Evolution and Perils of Extreme Phenotypes in Spiders. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2020; 65:57-80. [PMID: 31573828 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-011019-025032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Sexual size dimorphism is one of the most striking animal traits, and among terrestrial animals, it is most extreme in certain spider lineages. The most extreme sexual size dimorphism (eSSD) is female biased. eSSD itself is probably an epiphenomenon of gendered evolutionary drivers whose strengths and directions are diverse. We demonstrate that eSSD spider clades are aberrant by sampling randomly across all spiders to establish overall averages for female (6.9 mm) and male (5.6 mm) size. At least 16 spider eSSD clades exist. We explore why the literature does not converge on an overall explanation for eSSD and propose an equilibrium model featuring clade- and context-specific drivers of gender size variation. eSSD affects other traits such as sexual cannibalism, genital damage, emasculation, and monogyny with terminal investment. Coevolution with these extreme sexual phenotypes is termed eSSD mating syndrome. Finally, as costs of female gigantism increase with size, eSSD may represent an evolutionary dead end.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matjaž Kuntner
- Evolutionary Zoology Laboratory, Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
- Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560-0105, USA;
- Evolutionary Zoology Laboratory, Institute of Biology ZRC SAZU, SI-1001 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Jonathan A Coddington
- Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560-0105, USA;
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17
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Mouginot P, Uhl G. Females of a cannibalistic spider control mutilation of their genitalia by males. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
When females can mate multiply, the interests of both sexes over female remating may not coincide, leading to selection for adaptations and counteradaptations in males and females. In several orb-weaving spiders, males damage external structures of the female genitalia during copulation, which hinders the female from remating. We investigated whether females have control over the mutilation of their genitalia in the orb-weaving spider Larinia jeskovi. We found that female sexual cannibalism during copulation reduced the number of insertions a male was able to perform and hence limited the probability of genital mutilation by the male. Genital mutilation did not differ between treatments in which females experienced different availabilities of other males before the mating trial: males absent, males near the female (“vicinity group”), and males in the female’s web (“web group”). However, traits of the mating male (size, condition) were significantly correlated with the occurrence of cannibalism during mating in “web” and “vicinity” treatments. These results suggest that females have control over mutilation by an early termination of mating, can respond to the availability of potential mates and can alter the probability of mutilation according to certain male traits. Female sexual cannibalism may represent a counteradaptation to genital mutilation allowing females to mate multiply.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierick Mouginot
- General and Systematic Zoology, Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Gabriele Uhl
- General and Systematic Zoology, Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
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18
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Kiss B, Rádai Z, Toft S, Samu F. Sperm competition tactics shape paternity: adaptive role of extremely long copulations in a wolf spider. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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19
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Sales L, Migotto AE, Marian JEAR. Love will tear us apart: traumatic mating through consumption of body parts in a sea slug. Ecology 2019; 100:e02849. [PMID: 31351005 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2019] [Revised: 07/02/2019] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Licia Sales
- Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Alvaro E Migotto
- Centro de Biologia Marinha, Universidade de São Paulo, São Sebastião, São Paulo, 11612-109, Brazil
| | - José Eduardo A R Marian
- Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil
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Rivas-Torres A, Outomuro D, Lorenzo-Carballa MO, Cordero-Rivera A. The evolution and diversity of intra-male sperm translocation in Odonata: a unique behaviour in animals. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2660-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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21
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Oviedo-Diego MA, Mattoni CI, Peretti AV. Specificity of the female's local cellular immune response in genital plug producing scorpion species. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0208682. [PMID: 30742645 PMCID: PMC6370188 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Immune defense is a key feature in the life history of organisms, expensive to maintain, highly regulated by individuals and exposed to physiological and evolutionary trade-offs. In chelicerates, relatively scarce are the studies that relate postcopulatory mechanisms and immune response parameters. This work makes an approximation to the female’s immunological consequences produced after the placement of a foreign body in the genitalia of three scorpions species, two species that normally receive genital plugs during mating (Urophonius brachycentrus and U. achalensis) and one that does not (Zabius fuscus). Here we performed the first morphological description of the natural plugs of the two Urophonius species. We described complex three zoned structure anchored to the female genital atrium and based on this information we placed implants in the genitalia (for eliciting the local immune response) of virgin females of the three species and measured the immune encapsulation response to this foreign body. We found a greater and heterogeneous response in different zones of the implants in the plug producing species. To corroborate the specificity of this immune response, we compared the local genital reaction with the triggered response at a systemic level by inserting implants into the female body cavity of U. brachycentrus and Zabius fuscus. We found that the systemic response did not differ between species and that only in the plug producing species the local response in the genitalia was higher than the systemic one. We also compared the total hemocyte load before and after the genital implantation to see if this parameter was compromised by the immunological challenge. We confirmed that in Urophonius species the presence of a strange body in the genitalia caused a decrease in the hemocyte load. Besides, we find correlations between the body weight and the immunological parameters, as well as between different immunological parameters with each other. Complementarily, we characterized the hemocytes of the three scorpion species for the first time. This comparative study can help to provide a wider framework of the immunological characteristics of the species, their differences and their relationship with the particular postcopulatory mechanism such as the genital plugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariela A. Oviedo-Diego
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología, Córdoba Capital, Córdoba, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Laboratorio de Biología Reproductiva y Evolución, Córdoba Capital, Cordoba, Argentina
- * E-mail:
| | - Camilo I. Mattoni
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología, Córdoba Capital, Córdoba, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Laboratorio de Biología Reproductiva y Evolución, Córdoba Capital, Cordoba, Argentina
| | - Alfredo V. Peretti
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología, Córdoba Capital, Córdoba, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Laboratorio de Biología Reproductiva y Evolución, Córdoba Capital, Cordoba, Argentina
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Trillo MC, Laborda Á, Francescoli G, Aisenberg A. Fifty shades of silk: sexual behavior and bridal veil deposition in the spider Ctenus longipes. Acta Ethol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-018-0306-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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23
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Cory AL, Schneider JM. Mate availability does not influence mating strategies in males of the sexually cannibalistic spider Argiope bruennichi. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5360. [PMID: 30123703 PMCID: PMC6086085 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 07/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Sexual selection theory predicts that male investment in a current female should be a function of female density and male competition. While many studies have focused on male competition, the impact of female density on male mating investment has been widely neglected. Here, we aimed to close this gap and tested effects of mate density on male mating decisions in the orb-web spider Argiope bruennichi. Males of this species mutilate their genitalia during copulation, which reduces sperm competition and limits their mating rate to a maximum of two females (bigyny). The mating rate is frequently further reduced by female aggression and cannibalization. Males can reduce the risk of cannibalism if they jump off the female in time, but will then transfer fewer sperm. An alternative solution of this trade-off is to copulate longer, commit self-sacrifice and secure higher minimal paternity. The self-sacrificial strategy may be adaptive if prospective mating chances are uncertain. In A. bruennichi, this uncertainty may arise from quick changes in population dynamics. Therefore, we expected that males would immediately respond to information about low or high mate availability and opt for self-sacrifice after a single copulation under low mate availability. If male survival depends on information about prospective mating chances, we further predicted that under high mate availability, we would find a higher rate of males that leave the first mating partner to follow a bigynous mating strategy. Method We used naïve males and compared their mating decisions among two treatments that differed in the number of signalling females. In the high mate availability treatment, males perceived pheromone signals from four adult, virgin females, while in the low mate availability treatment only one of four females was adult and virgin and the other three were penultimate and unreceptive. Results Males took more time to start mate searching if mate availability was low. However, a self-sacrificial strategy was not more likely under low mate availability. We found no effects of treatment on the duration of copulation, the probability to survive the first copulation or the probability of bigyny. Interestingly, survival chances depended on male size and were higher in small males. Discussion Our results do not support the hypothesis that mate density variation affects male mating investment, although they clearly perceived mate density, which they presumably assessed by pheromone quantity. One reason for the absence of male adjustments to mating tactics could be that adaptations to survive female attacks veil adaptations that facilitate mating decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna-Lena Cory
- Institute of Zoology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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24
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Anderson AG, Hebets EA. Female nursery web spiders (Pisaurina mira) benefit from consuming their mate. Ethology 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alissa G. Anderson
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Nebraska - Lincoln; Lincoln Nebraska
| | - Eileen A. Hebets
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Nebraska - Lincoln; Lincoln Nebraska
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25
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Kadoi M, Morimoto K, Takami Y. Male mate choice in a sexually cannibalistic species: male escapes from hungry females in the praying mantid Tenodera angustipennis. J ETHOL 2017; 35:177-185. [PMID: 29225403 PMCID: PMC5711982 DOI: 10.1007/s10164-017-0506-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2016] [Accepted: 01/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
While competing males and choosy females may be common in animal mating systems, male choice can evolve under certain conditions. Sexual cannibalism is such a condition because of the high mortality risk for males. In mantids, female body condition is associated with male mate preference, with fat females preferred, due to at least two reasons: females in poor nutritional condition are likely to attack and predate males, and fat females can potentially increase the number of offspring. Thus, the risk of cannibalism and female fecundity can influence male mating behavior. In this study, we attempted to separate these factors by using the praying mantid Tenodera angustipennis to examine whether male preference for fat female mantids was based on avoiding sexual cannibalism (cannibalism avoidance hypothesis) or preference for female fecundity (fecundity preference hypothesis). The feeding regimes were experimentally manipulated to discriminate between the effects of female fecundity and female hunger status on male and female mating behaviors. We found that recently starved females more frequently locomoted toward the male, and that male abdominal bending was less intensive and escape was sooner from recently starved females. These female and male behavioral responses to female hunger condition may reveal male avoidance of dangerous females in this mantid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mika Kadoi
- Faculty of Human Development, Kobe University, Tsurukabuto 3-11, Nada, Kobe 657-8501 Japan
| | - Kotaro Morimoto
- Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University, Tsurukabuto 3-11, Nada, Kobe 657-8501 Japan
| | - Yasuoki Takami
- Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University, Tsurukabuto 3-11, Nada, Kobe 657-8501 Japan
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26
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Deventer SA, Herberstein ME, Mayntz D, O'Hanlon JC, Schneider JM. Female fecundity and offspring survival are not increased through sexual cannibalism in the spider Larinioides sclopetarius. J Evol Biol 2017; 30:2146-2155. [PMID: 28902470 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2017] [Revised: 08/09/2017] [Accepted: 09/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Many hypotheses explaining the evolution and maintenance of sexual cannibalism incorporate the nutritional aspect of the consumption of males. Most studies have focused on a fecundity advantage through consumption of a male; however, recent studies have raised the intriguing possibility that consumption of a male may also affect offspring quality. In particular, recent studies suggest prolonged survival for offspring from sexually cannibalistic females. Here, we measured the protein and lipid content of males compared to insect prey (crickets), quantified female nutrient intake of both prey types and finally assessed how sexual cannibalism affects female fecundity and spiderling quality in the orb-web spider Larinioides sclopetarius. We found no evidence that sexual cannibalism increased fecundity when compared to a female control group fed a cricket. Contrary to previous studies, spiderlings from females fed a male showed reduced survival under food deprivation compared to spiderlings from the control group. Offspring from females fed a male also tended to begin web construction sooner. The low lipid content of males compared to crickets may have reduced offspring survival duration. Whether additional proteins obtained through consumption of a male translate to enhanced silk production in offspring requires further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- S A Deventer
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - M E Herberstein
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - D Mayntz
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - J C O'Hanlon
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Centre of Excellence for Behavioural & Physiological Ecology, Zoology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
| | - J M Schneider
- Department of Biology, Zoological Institute, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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Wilder SM, Schneider JM. Micronutrient consumption by female Argiope bruennichi affects offspring survival. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2017; 100:128-132. [PMID: 28614727 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2017.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2017] [Revised: 06/08/2017] [Accepted: 06/09/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Sexual cannibalism has long been hypothesized to be a foraging decision in which females consume males for the nutrients in their bodies. While few studies have documented fecundity benefits of sexual cannibalism, several recent studies have documented benefits of cannibalism to egg hatching success or offspring survival. We tested if small supplements of dietary essential nutrients fed to female spiders, Argiope bruennichi, would result in increases in offspring survival similar to those seen following sexual cannibalism. All female spiders were prevented from cannibalizing their mates and subsequently fed either: a dead male spider, or a similarly-sized dead fly with one of four nutrient supplements (water control, dietary essential fatty acids, dietary essential amino acids, or nonessential amino and fatty acids). Females that consumed a small supplement of dietary essential amino acids produced offspring that survived simulated overwintering conditions significantly longer than offspring of other treatments. While a previous study found a significant effect of cannibalism on offspring survival using field-collected males as prey, the current study, which used lab-reared males as prey, found no effect of sexual cannibalism on offspring survival. Hence, our results suggest that dietary essential amino acids, which may be sequestered by males from their diet, could be valuable supplements that increase the success of the offspring of cannibalistic females. Further work is needed to determine the source and identity of these dietary essential amino acids and if other essential nutrients (e.g., trace elements, vitamins, etc.) may also be limiting in female diets and affect offspring success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn M Wilder
- School of Biological Sciences and Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, OK, USA.
| | - Jutta M Schneider
- Department of Biology, Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Hamburg, Germany
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29
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Gavín-Centol MP, Kralj-Fišer S, De Mas E, Ruiz-Lupión D, Moya-Laraño J. Feeding regime, adult age and sexual size dimorphism as determinants of pre-copulatory sexual cannibalism in virgin wolf spiders. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2228-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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30
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Kuntner M, Cheng RC, Kralj-Fišer S, Liao CP, Schneider JM, Elgar MA. The evolution of genital complexity and mating rates in sexually size dimorphic spiders. BMC Evol Biol 2016; 16:242. [PMID: 27829358 PMCID: PMC5103378 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-016-0821-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2016] [Accepted: 10/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Genital diversity may arise through sexual conflict over polyandry, where male genital features function to manipulate female mating frequency against her interest. Correlated genital evolution across animal groups is consistent with this view, but a link between genital complexity and mating rates remains to be established. In sexually size dimorphic spiders, golden orbweaving spiders (Nephilidae) males mutilate their genitals to form genital plugs, but these plugs do not always prevent female polyandry. In a comparative framework, we test whether male and female genital complexity coevolve, and how these morphologies, as well as sexual cannibalism, relate to the evolution of mating systems. Results Using a combination of comparative tests, we show that male genital complexity negatively correlates with female mating rates, and that levels of sexual cannibalism negatively correlate with male mating rates. We also confirm a positive correlation between male and female genital complexity. The macroevolutionary trajectory is consistent with a repeated evolution from polyandry to monandry coinciding with the evolution towards more complex male genitals. Conclusions These results are consistent with the predictions from sexual conflict theory, although sexual conflict may not be the only mechanism responsible for the evolution of genital complexity and mating systems. Nevertheless, our comparative evidence suggests that in golden orbweavers, male genital complexity limits female mating rates, and sexual cannibalism by females coincides with monogyny. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0821-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matjaž Kuntner
- Institute of Biology, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia. .,National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
| | - Ren-Chung Cheng
- Institute of Biology, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Simona Kralj-Fišer
- Institute of Biology, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Chen-Pan Liao
- Department of Life Science, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Jutta M Schneider
- Zoological Institute, Biozentrum Grindel, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Mark A Elgar
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia
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31
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Neumann R, Schneider JM. Socially cued developmental plasticity in web-building spiders. BMC Evol Biol 2016; 16:170. [PMID: 27561330 PMCID: PMC5000426 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-016-0736-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2016] [Accepted: 08/08/2016] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Socially cued anticipatory plasticity (SCAP) has been proposed as a widespread mechanism of adaptive life-history shifts in semelparous species with extreme male mating investment. Such mating systems evolved several times independently in spiders and male reproductive success should critically depend on timely maturation and rapid location of a receptive and, ideally, virgin female. We experimentally investigated socially cued anticipatory plasticity in two sympatric, closely related Nephila species that share many components of their mating systems, but differ in the degree to which male reproductive success depends on mating with virgin females. Juveniles of both species were reared either in the presence or absence of virgin female silk cues. We predicted strong selection on socially cued plasticity in N. fenestrata in which males follow a highly specialized terminal investment strategy, but expected a weaker plastic response in N. senegalensis in which males lost the ability to monopolize females. Results Contrary to our predictions, N. fenestrata males presented with virgin female silk cues did not mature earlier than siblings reared isolated from such cues. Males in N. senegalensis, however, showed a significant response to female cues and matured several days earlier than control males. Plastic adjustment of maturation had no effect on male size. Conclusions Our results indicate that a strong benefit of mating with virgins due to first male sperm priority does not necessarily promote socially cued anticipatory plasticity. We emphasize the bidirectional mode of developmental responses and suggest that this form of plasticity may not only yield benefits through accelerated maturation, but also by avoiding costs of precipitate maturation in the absence of female cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rainer Neumann
- Zoologisches Institut, Universität Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Jutta M Schneider
- Zoologisches Institut, Universität Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146, Hamburg, Germany
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32
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Preik OA, Schneider JM, Uhl G, Michalik P. Transition from monogyny to polygyny inNephila senegalensis(Araneae: Nephilidae) is not accompanied by increased investment in sperm. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Onno A. Preik
- University of Hamburg; Biozentrum Grindel; Zoological Institute; Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 D-20146 Hamburg Germany
| | - Jutta M. Schneider
- University of Hamburg; Biozentrum Grindel; Zoological Institute; Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 D-20146 Hamburg Germany
| | - Gabriele Uhl
- University of Greifswald; Zoological Institute and Museum; General and Systematic Zoology; J.S.-Bach Straße 11-12 D-17489 Greifswald Germany
| | - Peter Michalik
- University of Greifswald; Zoological Institute and Museum; General and Systematic Zoology; J.S.-Bach Straße 11-12 D-17489 Greifswald Germany
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33
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Avigliano E, Scardamaglia RC, Gabelli FM, Pompilio L. Males choose to keep their heads: Preference for lower risk females in a praying mantid. Behav Processes 2016; 129:80-85. [PMID: 27298235 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2016] [Accepted: 06/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Male reproductive success is obviously mate limited, which implies that males should rarely be choosy. One extreme case of a reproductive (or mating) cost is sexual cannibalism. Recent research has proposed that male mantids (Parastagmatoptera tessellata) are choosy and not complicit in cannibalism and that they modify behavior towards females based on the risk imposed by them. Since female cannibalism depends on females' energetic state (i.e. hunger) we investigated whether male mantids are capable of using environmental cues that provide information regarding the energetic state of females to make their mate choices. Under laboratory conditions, males were confronted individually with three options: a female eating a prey, a female without a prey, and a male eating a prey (as a control for the presence of prey). Each subject comprising a choice was harnessed and placed in the corners of a triangular experimental arena at an equidistant distance from the focal male. The prey was a middle size cricket that subjects ate in approximately twenty minutes. The behavior of focal males was recorded for six hours. Females were under the same deprivation regime and, in line with previous studies, consuming one cricket did not significantly increase females' abdomen girth. Male mantids significantly preferred females that were eating a prey. In all cases choices were made after the females consumed the whole prey. This suggests that males did not use the prey as a direct way to avoid being cannibalized by keeping the female busy. The preference for females that had recently fed may have evolved because of the potential reduction in sexual cannibalism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esteban Avigliano
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución & IEGEBA-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Romina C Scardamaglia
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución & IEGEBA-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | | | - Lorena Pompilio
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución & IEGEBA-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Female predatory response to conspecific males and heterospecific prey in the praying mantis Mantis religiosa: evidence for discrimination of conspecific males. J ETHOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-016-0458-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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35
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Xiao YH, Zunic-Kosi A, Zhang LW, Prentice TR, McElfresh JS, Chinta SP, Zou YF, Millar JG. Male adaptations to minimize sexual cannibalism during reproduction in the funnel-web spider Hololena curta. INSECT SCIENCE 2015; 22:840-852. [PMID: 26033974 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/29/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Males of many spider species risk being attacked and cannibalized while searching for, courting, and mating with conspecific females. However, there are exceptions. We show that the funnel-web spider, Hololena curta, has 3 adaptations that minimize risk to males during courtship and mating, and enhance reproductive success. First, males detected chemical or tactile signals associated with webs of virgin females, and differentiated them from webs of mated females, enabling males to increase encounter rates with virgin females and avoid aggressive mated females. Second, males produced stereotyped vibrational signals during courting which induced female quiescence and suppressed female aggression. Third, when touched by males, sexually receptive females entered a cataleptic state, allowing males to safely approach and copulate. Because males can mate multiple times and the sex ratio in natural populations of H. curta is female biased, overall reproductive output is likely increased by males of this species avoiding sexual cannibalism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong-Hong Xiao
- College of Life Sciences, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, Jiangxi, 343009, China
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Alenka Zunic-Kosi
- Department of Entomology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, SI-1000, Slovenia
| | - Long-Wa Zhang
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
- Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Control, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, China
| | - Thomas R Prentice
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - J Steven McElfresh
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Satya P Chinta
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Yun-Fan Zou
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Jocelyn G Millar
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
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36
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Exploiting a moment of weakness: male spiders escape sexual cannibalism by copulating with moulting females. Sci Rep 2015; 5:16928. [PMID: 26607497 PMCID: PMC4660273 DOI: 10.1038/srep16928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2015] [Accepted: 10/22/2015] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Sexual cannibalism is a particularly extreme example of conflict between the sexes, depriving the male of future reproduction. Theory predicts that sexual conflict should induce counter-adaptations in the victim. Observations of male spiders mating with moulting and hence largely immobile females suggest that this behaviour functions to circumvent female control and cannibalism. However, we lack quantitative estimates of natural frequencies and fitness consequences of these unconventional matings. To understand the importance of mating while moulting in cannibalistic mating systems, we combined mating experiments and paternity assessment in the laboratory with extensive field observations using the sexually cannibalistic orb-web spider Argiope bruennichi. Copulations with moulting females resulted in 97% male survival compared with only 20% in conventional matings. Mating while moulting provided similar paternity benefits compared with conventional matings. Our findings support the hypothesis that mating with moulting females evolved under sexual conflict and safely evades sexual cannibalism. Despite male benefits, natural frequencies were estimated around 44% and directly predicted by a male guarding a subadult female. Since only adult females signal their presence, the difficulty for males to locate subadult females might limit further spreading of mating with moulting females.
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37
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Abstract
Sexual conflict occurs whenever there is sexually antagonistic selection on shared traits. When shared traits result from interactions (e.g., mating rate) and have a different genetic basis in each sex (i.e., interlocus conflict), then sex-specific traits that shift the value of these interaction traits toward the sex-specific optimum will be favored. Male traits can be favored that increase the fitness of their male bearers, but decrease the fitness of interacting females. Likewise, female traits that reduce the costs of interacting with harmful males may simultaneously impose costs on males. If the evolution of these antagonistic traits changes the nature of selection acting on the opposite sex, interesting coevolutionary dynamics will result. Here we examine three current issues in the study of sexually antagonistic interactions: the female side of sexual conflict, the ecological context of sexual conflict, and the strength of evidence for sexually antagonistic coevolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer C Perry
- Jesus College, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3DW, United Kingdom Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, United Kingdom
| | - Locke Rowe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada
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