1
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Burke NW. Sexual cannibalism as a female resistance trait: a new hypothesis. Evolution 2024; 78:612-623. [PMID: 38280203 DOI: 10.1093/evolut/qpae017] [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: 08/03/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Abstract
Female spiders and praying mantises are renowned for their cannibalism of male partners before, during, or after mating. While several hypotheses have been proposed to explain species-specific examples of sexual cannibalism, much variation remains unexplained, including why the timing of cannibalism varies across taxa. Here, I outline how sexually cannibalistic behavior could evolve via sexually antagonistic selection as a type of behavioral resistance to male-imposed mating costs, and how such a generalizable interpretation provides a framework for understanding the evolution of both sexual cannibalism in females and anti-cannibalistic traits in males. I discuss how differences between mating systems that physiologically constrain males to mate only once (monogyny) or twice (bigyny) and systems where the sexes can potentially mate multiply (polygyny and polyandry) are likely to influence how sexual conflict shapes cannibalistic behavior. I review key examples from the literature that suggest how sexually cannibalistic behavior might function as a female resistance trait and provide comprehensive predictions for testing this hypothesis empirically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan W Burke
- Department of Biology, Institute of Cell and Systems Biology of Animals, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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2
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Should females cannibalize with or without mating in the facultatively parthenogenetic springbok mantis? Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/13/2023]
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3
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Harvey JA. Prey availability affects developmental trade-offs and sexual-size dimorphism in the false widow spider, Steatoda grossa. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 136:104267. [PMID: 34153345 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2021.104267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In many spiders, females are significantly larger than males. Several theories have been postulated to explain sexual size dimorphism (SSD), including differential predation risks experienced by each sex early in life (including female cannibalism of males), male-male competition, and the more costly production of eggs than sperm. However, there is considerable intraspecific variation in the relative size of males and females that is reflected in trade-offs on traits such as growth rate and body size. When SSD favors female size, the body mass ratios between the smallest and largest males is expected to be much greater than in females. Here, growth trajectories and body masses of the false widow spider, Steatoda grossa, were compared in male and female spiders fed continually or intermittently. Males provided with unlimited prey (fruit flies and house crickets) took about 15 weeks to attain full size and sexual maturity and grew to a mean of 25 mg. By contrast, males fed only once every three weeks took approximately 6 weeks longer to reach maturity but were only about half as large (mean 13 mg) as males fed constantly. Females fed intermittently took almost twice as long (45 weeks versus 24 weeks) as constantly-fed females to reach maturity, but were almost 90% as large when fully grown. These results reveal that, although both sexes trade-off development time and body size to achieve the optimal phenotype, rapid development is more important than larger body size in males whereas the opposite is true in females. This finding supports life-history theory underpinning sexual-size dimorphism in some spider lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey A Harvey
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands; VU University Amsterdam, Department of Ecological Sciences, Section Animal Ecology, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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4
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Female control of a novel form of cannibalism during copulation in a South American widow spider. Behav Processes 2021; 188:104406. [PMID: 33895251 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Sexual cannibalism is an extreme form of sexual conflict that may have broad evolutionary effects on mating behaviour. Latrodectus spiders (∼30 "widow" species) could enable comparative tests of the evolution of sexual cannibalism, but most species are poorly-studied. Here we describe the mating and remating behaviour of a species endemic to South America, L. mirabilis, with a focus on the occurrence and consequences of sexual cannibalism. Mating and cannibalistic behaviours were novel relative to other Latrodectus species. Cannibalism started during copulation when females grasped the male's legs with their chelicerae, and continued as females pulled the male's abdomen onto their chelicerae, without interrupting copulation. Cannibalism was initiated by females, and not facilitated by males as was observed in other Latrodectus species. Females frequently remated however, so cannibalized males might lose paternity to future rivals. We report high rates of cannibalism, with 70 % of males killed by females during their first mating, and 85 % killed by previously-mated females. We discuss our novel findings in the context of previous observations in other Latrodectus species, proposing that foundational studies in a wider range of species are necessary to support comparative tests about the evolution of sexual cannibalism within this model taxon.
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5
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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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6
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Hernández Duran L, Wilson DT, Briffa M, Rymer TL. Beyond spider personality: The relationships between behavioral, physiological, and environmental factors. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:2974-2989. [PMID: 33841759 PMCID: PMC8019048 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Spiders are useful models for testing different hypotheses and methodologies relating to animal personality and behavioral syndromes because they show a range of behavioral types and unique physiological traits (e.g., silk and venom) that are not observed in many other animals. These characteristics allow for a unique understanding of how physiology, behavioral plasticity, and personality interact across different contexts to affect spider's individual fitness and survival. However, the relative effect of extrinsic factors on physiological traits (silk, venom, and neurohormones) that play an important role in spider survival, and which may impact personality, has received less attention. The goal of this review is to explore how the environment, experience, ontogeny, and physiology interact to affect spider personality types across different contexts. We highlight physiological traits, such as neurohormones, and unique spider biochemical weapons, namely silks and venoms, to explore how the use of these traits might, or might not, be constrained or limited by particular behavioral types. We argue that, to develop a comprehensive understanding of the flexibility and persistence of specific behavioral types in spiders, it is necessary to incorporate these underlying mechanisms into a synthesized whole, alongside other extrinsic and intrinsic factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda Hernández Duran
- College of Science and EngineeringJames Cook UniversityCairnsQldAustralia
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability SciencesJames Cook UniversityCairnsQldAustralia
| | - David Thomas Wilson
- Centre for Molecular TherapeuticsAustralian Institute for Tropical Health and MedicineJames Cook UniversityCairnsQldAustralia
| | - Mark Briffa
- School of Biological and Marine SciencesPlymouth UniversityPlymouthUK
| | - Tasmin Lee Rymer
- College of Science and EngineeringJames Cook UniversityCairnsQldAustralia
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability SciencesJames Cook UniversityCairnsQldAustralia
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7
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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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8
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Moya-Laraño J, Rabaneda-Bueno R, Morrison E, Crowley PH. Model and Data Concur and Explain the Coexistence of Two Very Distinct Animal Behavioral Types. BIOLOGY 2020; 9:biology9090241. [PMID: 32825577 PMCID: PMC7564360 DOI: 10.3390/biology9090241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2020] [Revised: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Behaviors may enhance fitness in some situations while being detrimental in others. Linked behaviors (behavioral syndromes) may be central to understanding the maintenance of behavioral variability in natural populations. The spillover hypothesis of premating sexual cannibalism by females explains genetically determined female aggression towards both prey and males: growth to a larger size translates into higher fecundity, but at the risk of insufficient sperm acquisition. Here, we use an individual-based model to determine the ecological scenarios under which this spillover strategy is more likely to evolve over a strategy in which females attack approaching males only once the female has previously secured sperm. We found that a classic spillover strategy could never prevail. However, a more realistic early-spillover strategy, in which females become adults earlier in addition to reaching a larger size, could be maintained in some ecological scenarios and even invade a population of females following the other strategy. We also found under some ecological scenarios that both behavioral types coexist through frequency-dependent selection. Additionally, using data from the spider Lycosa hispanica, we provide strong support for the prediction that the two strategies may coexist in the wild. Our results clarify how animal personalities evolve and are maintained in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Moya-Laraño
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (EEZA-CSIC), Carrera de Sacramento s/n, 04120 Almería, Spain;
- Correspondence:
| | - Rubén Rabaneda-Bueno
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (EEZA-CSIC), Carrera de Sacramento s/n, 04120 Almería, Spain;
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Emily Morrison
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0225, USA; (E.M.); (P.H.C.)
| | - Philip H. Crowley
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0225, USA; (E.M.); (P.H.C.)
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9
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Anderson AG, Hebets EA, Bickner BM, Watts JC. Males mate with multiple females to increase offspring numbers in a nursery web spider. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alissa G Anderson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Eileen A Hebets
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Bridget M Bickner
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - J Colton Watts
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
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10
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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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11
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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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12
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Pandulli-Alonso I, Quaglia A, Albo MJ. Females of a gift-giving spider do not trade sex for food gifts: a consequence of male deception? BMC Evol Biol 2017; 17:112. [PMID: 28506206 PMCID: PMC5433081 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-017-0953-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2017] [Accepted: 04/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Polyandry is commonly maintained by direct benefits in gift-giving species, so females may remate as an adaptive foraging strategy. However, the assumption of a direct benefit fades in mating systems where male gift-giving behaviour has evolved from offering nutritive to worthless (non-nutritive) items. In the spider Paratrechalea ornata, 70% of gifts in nature are worthless. We therefore predicted female receptivity to be independent of hunger in this species. We exposed poorly-fed and well-fed females to multiple males offering nutritive gifts and well-fed females to males offering worthless gifts. Results Though the treatments strongly affected fecundity, females of all groups had similar number of matings. This confirms that female receptivity is independent of their nutritional state, i.e. polyandry does not prevail as a foraging strategy. Conclusions In the spider Pisaura mirabilis, in which the majority (62%) of gifts in nature are nutritive, female receptivity depends on hunger. We therefore propose that the dependence of female receptivity on hunger state may have evolved in species with predominantly nutritive gifts but is absent in species with predominantly worthless gifts. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0953-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Pandulli-Alonso
- Laboratorio de Etología, Ecología y Evolución, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Avenida Italia, 3318, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Agustín Quaglia
- Laboratorio de Arbovirus-Instituto de Virología "Dr. J. M. Vanella"-Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Maria J Albo
- Laboratorio de Etología, Ecología y Evolución, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Avenida Italia, 3318, Montevideo, Uruguay.
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13
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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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14
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Boisseau RP, Wilder SM, Barry KL. Sexual and nonsexual cannibalism have different effects on offspring performance in redback spiders. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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15
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Schwartz S, Wagner W, Hebets E. Males Can Benefit from Sexual Cannibalism Facilitated by Self-Sacrifice. Curr Biol 2016; 26:2794-2799. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2016] [Revised: 07/01/2016] [Accepted: 08/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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16
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Cory AL, Schneider JM. Old maids have more appeal: effects of age and pheromone source on mate attraction in an orb-web spider. PeerJ 2016; 4:e1877. [PMID: 27114864 PMCID: PMC4841224 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2016] [Accepted: 03/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background. In many insects and spider species, females attract males with volatile sex pheromones, but we know surprisingly little about the costs and benefits of female pheromone emission. Here, we test the hypothesis that mate attraction by females is dynamic and strategic in the sense that investment in mate attraction is matched to the needs of the female. We use the orb-web spider Argiope bruennichi in which females risk the production of unfertilised egg clutches if they do not receive a copulation within a certain time-frame. Methods. We designed field experiments to compare mate attraction by recently matured (young) females with females close to oviposition (old). In addition, we experimentally separated the potential sources of pheromone transmission, namely the female body and the web silk. Results. In accordance with the hypothesis of strategic pheromone production, the probability of mate attraction and the number of males attracted differed between age classes. While the bodies and webs of young females were hardly found by males, the majority of old females attracted up to two males within two hours. Old females not only increased pheromone emission from their bodies but also from their webs. Capture webs alone spun by old females were significantly more efficient in attracting males than webs of younger females. Discussion. Our results suggest that females modulate their investment in signalling according to the risk of remaining unmated and that they thereby economize on the costs associated with pheromone production and emission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna-Lena Cory
- Zoologisches Institut, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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17
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Macedo-Rego RC, Costa-Schmidt LE, Santos ESA, Machado G. Negative effects of prolonged dietary restriction on male mating effort: nuptial gifts as honest indicators of long-term male condition. Sci Rep 2016; 6:21846. [PMID: 26908253 PMCID: PMC4764815 DOI: 10.1038/srep21846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2015] [Accepted: 01/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The handicap principle proposes that sexual signals must be costly to be honest. Honesty may be maintained by the costs paid by honest signallers or by the potential costs of cheating. In the latter, handicaps should emerge as a consequence of specific biological constraints, such as life-history trade-offs. Nuptial prey-giving arthropods are good systems to investigate the honesty of sexual signals taking into account trade-offs between self-maintenance and mating effort. We experimentally evaluated if prolonged food shortage during early adulthood imposes long-term negative effects on gift construction by males of the spider Paratrechalea ornata. We also evaluated whether a burst of food availability improved body condition of poorly fed males, increasing their frequency of gift construction. Poorly fed males hardly constructed gifts, even after a marked increase in feeding rate, which clearly improved their body condition. Moreover, initially poorly fed males that latter received high food intake constructed lighter gifts than continuously well fed males. The long-term effects of prolonged dietary restriction on male propensity to construct a gift and on the size of this gift may increase the honesty of this sexually selected signal. From the female’s perspective the offer of a gift may bring information on male quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renato C Macedo-Rego
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, n° 321, São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil.,LAGE do Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, n° 321, São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Luiz Ernesto Costa-Schmidt
- LAGE do Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, n° 321, São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Avenida Unisinos, 950, São Leopoldo, RS, 93022-000, Brazil.,Laboratorio de Biología Reproductiva y Evolución, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA - CONICET), Avenida Vélez Sarsfield, 299, Córdoba Capital, CP: 5000, Argentina
| | - Eduardo S A Santos
- LAGE do Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, n° 321, São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil.,Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, n° 321, São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Glauco Machado
- LAGE do Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, n° 321, São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil
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18
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Kralj-Fišer S, Čandek K, Lokovšek T, Čelik T, Cheng RC, Elgar MA, Kuntner M. Mate choice and sexual size dimorphism, not personality, explain female aggression and sexual cannibalism in raft spiders. Anim Behav 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.10.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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19
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Walker LA, Holwell GI. Sexual cannibalism in a facultative parthenogen: the springbok mantis (Miomantis caffra). Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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20
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Dangerous mating systems: Signal complexity, signal content and neural capacity in spiders. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2014; 46 Pt 4:509-18. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.07.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2014] [Revised: 07/01/2014] [Accepted: 07/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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21
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Abstract
Sexual cannibalism is a well-known example for sexual conflict and has many facets that determine the costs and benefits for the cannibal and the victim. Here, I focus on species in which sexual cannibalism is a general component of a mating system in which males invest maximally in mating with a single (monogyny) or two (bigyny) females. Sexual cannibalism can be a male strategy to maximize paternity and a female strategy to prevent paternity monopolization by any or a particular male. Considerable variation exists between species (1) in the potential of males to monopolize females, and (2) in the success of females in preventing monopolization by males. This opens up exciting future possibilities to investigate sexually antagonistic coevolution in a largely unstudied mating system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jutta M Schneider
- Zoological Institute & Museum, Biocentre Grindel, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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22
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Fernández-Montraveta C, González JM, Cuadrado M. Male vulnerability explains the occurrence of sexual cannibalism in a moderately sexually dimorphic wolf spider. Behav Processes 2014; 105:53-9. [PMID: 24631760 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2014.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2013] [Revised: 02/22/2014] [Accepted: 03/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Sexual cannibalism is a widespread phenomenon among a few animal taxa. Its occurrence is interpreted as female and/or male optimal reproductive decisions or as a non-adaptive side effect of selection for efficiently foraging females. In spite of the amount of research addressed at understanding its evolutionary origins, we lack accurate information about the proximate causes of sexual cannibalism. In a moderately sexually dimorphic wolf spider (Hogna radiata, Araneae, Lycosidae) we assessed the factors mediating the occurrence of sexual cannibalism and its fitness benefits to females. Sexual cannibalism was a rather common outcome of laboratory mating interactions, occurring in more than a quarter percent of courtship interactions involving virgin females. Sexual cannibalism mostly followed mating. Occurrence of sexual cannibalism depended on male vulnerability to female attacks: relatively smaller males were at higher risk of being attacked and older males were less likely to avoid female attacks. Sexual cannibalism had direct and positive effects on female fitness, as sexually cannibalistic females exhibited increased fecundity irrespective of their size, condition and foraging rate. Male consumption was almost complete and represented a relevant food intake to females. We interpret sexual cannibalism as a strategic foraging decision for H. radiata females that adjust their aggressive behaviour towards males so as to limit its potential costs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Fernández-Montraveta
- Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
| | - José Miguel González
- Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain; Zoobotánico de Jerez, Madreselva s/n, 11407 Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, Spain.
| | - Mariano Cuadrado
- Zoobotánico de Jerez, Madreselva s/n, 11407 Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, Spain.
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Rabaneda-Bueno R, Aguado S, Fernández-Montraveta C, Moya-Laraño J. Does Female Personality Determine Mate Choice Through Sexual Cannibalism? Ethology 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rubén Rabaneda-Bueno
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva; Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; Almería Spain
| | - Sara Aguado
- Departamento de Biología de Organismos y Sistemas; Universidad de Oviedo; Oviedo Spain
| | | | - Jordi Moya-Laraño
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva; Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; Almería Spain
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Planas E, Fernández-Montraveta C, Ribera C. Molecular systematics of the wolf spider genus Lycosa (Araneae: Lycosidae) in the Western Mediterranean Basin. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2013; 67:414-28. [PMID: 23416758 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2013.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2013] [Revised: 02/02/2013] [Accepted: 02/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we present the first molecular phylogeny of the wolf spider genus Lycosa Latreille, 1804 in the Western Mediterranean Basin. With a wide geographic sampling comprising 90 localities and including more than 180 individuals, we conducted species delimitation analyses with a Maximum Likelihood approach that uses a mixed Yule-coalescent model to detect species boundaries. We estimated molecular phylogenetic relationships employing Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference methods using mitochondrial and nuclear sequences. We conducted divergence time analyses using a relaxed clock model implemented in BEAST. Our results recovered 12 species that form four groups: Lycosa tarantula group comprising L. tarantula the type species of the genus, L. hispanica and L. bedeli; Lycosa oculata group composed of L.oculata, L. suboculata and three putative new species; Lycosa baulnyi group formed by the maghrebian L. baulnyi and L. vachoni and Lycosa fasciiventris group that includes two widespread species, L. fasciiventris and L. munieri. We found that each group of species shows a characteristic burrowing behavior and molecular and morphological diagnostic characters. Molecular clock analyses support the hypothesis of a relatively recent evolutionary origin of diversification of the group (4.96 Mya (3.53-6.45 Mya)). The establishment of the Mediterranean-like climate and the Pleistocenic glacial cycles seem to have been the main factors that promoted the diversification within the group. Finally, the results obtained in this study together with the revision of museum specimens, descriptions, redescriptions and illustrations, lead us to propose 18 nomenclatural changes (synonymies, generic transfers and nomina dubia) concerning the genera Lycosa, Allocosa and Hogna in the Western Mediterranean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enric Planas
- Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Departament de Biologia Animal, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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Foellmer MW, Khadka KK. Does personality explain variation in the probability of sexual cannibalism in the orb-web spider Argiope aurantia? BEHAVIOUR 2013. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Sexual cannibalism is often hypothesized to be an extreme manifestation of sexual conflict, yet we still lack a good understanding of the underlying motivation in most species. Hypotheses for the ultimate causes of sexual cannibalism either invoke the behavior as adaptive or mal-adaptive. Adaptive hypotheses consider foraging decisions, mate choice or genetic bet-hedging. Mal-adaptive hypotheses propose that sexual cannibalism is the result of mistaken species identity or the by-product of an aggression syndrome. Here, we test the latter hypothesis, that sexual cannibalism is the result of an aggression syndrome. This hypothesis states that aggressive behavior is favored in the foraging context because females benefit from achieving a large size quickly through an increase in fecundity, and it predicts that individuals that are aggressive foragers are more likely to attack a male and hence are at risk of receiving no or insufficient quantities of sperm. Few tests of this hypothesis are available to date, and only one involved a species with sexual cannibalism occurring after at least some sperm transfer. We test the hypothesis in Argiope aurantia, a species in which females frequently attack males during copulation. We estimated aggressiveness in the foraging context in penultimate and adults females and staged matings using the same females to evaluate whether aggressiveness during the foraging context predicts the likelihood of sexual cannibalism. Indeed, we find that aggressive foragers are more likely to attack their mates, but we conclude that other, possibly adaptive reasons for cannibalism exist as much of the uncertainty in cannibalism occurrence remained unexplained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias W. Foellmer
- Department of Biology, Adelphi University, 1 South Avenue, Garden City, NY 11530, USA
| | - Kapil K. Khadka
- Department of Biology, Adelphi University, 1 South Avenue, Garden City, NY 11530, USA
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Factors influencing sexual cannibalism and its benefit to fecundity and offspring survival in the wolf spider Pardosa pseudoannulata (Araneae: Lycosidae). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1440-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Moya-Laraño J. Genetic variation, predator-prey interactions and food web structure. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2011; 366:1425-37. [PMID: 21444316 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Food webs are networks of species that feed on each other. The role that within-population phenotypic and genetic variation plays in food web structure is largely unknown. Here, I show via simulation how variation in two key traits, growth rates and phenology, by influencing the variability of body sizes present through time, can potentially affect several structural parameters in the direction of enhancing food web persistence: increased connectance, decreased interaction strengths, increased variation among interaction strengths and increased degree of omnivory. I discuss other relevant traits whose variation could affect the structure of food webs, such as morphological and additional life-history traits, as well as animal personalities. Furthermore, trait variation could also contribute to the stability of food web modules through metacommunity dynamics. I propose future research to help establish a link between within-population variation and food web structure. If appropriately established, such a link could have important consequences for biological conservation, as it would imply that preserving (functional) genetic variation within populations could ensure the preservation of entire communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Moya-Laraño
- Cantabrian Institute of Biodiversity (ICAB), Universidad de Oviedo-Principado de Asturias, 33006 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain.
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Johnson JC, Trubl P, Blackmore V, Miles L. Male black widows court well-fed females more than starved females: silken cues indicate sexual cannibalism risk. Anim Behav 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.05.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Johnson JC, Kitchen K, Andrade MCB. Family Affects Sibling Cannibalism in the Black Widow Spider, Latrodectus hesperus. Ethology 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2010.01792.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Males make poor meals: a comparison of nutrient extraction during sexual cannibalism and predation. Oecologia 2009; 162:617-25. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-009-1518-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2009] [Accepted: 11/04/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Wilder SM, Rypstra AL, Elgar MA. The Importance of Ecological and Phylogenetic Conditions for the Occurrence and Frequency of Sexual Cannibalism. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2009. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.110308.120238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shawn M. Wilder
- Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056;
| | - Ann L. Rypstra
- Department of Zoology, Miami University, Hamilton, Ohio 45011
| | - Mark A. Elgar
- Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
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MAS EDE, RIBERA C, MOYA‐LARAÑO J. Resurrecting the differential mortality model of sexual size dimorphism. J Evol Biol 2009; 22:1739-49. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2009.01786.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- E. DE MAS
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, CSIC, Almería, Spain
| | - C. RIBERA
- Department of Animal Biology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - J. MOYA‐LARAÑO
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, CSIC, Almería, Spain
- Departmento de Organismos y Sistemas, Instituto Cantábrico de Biodiversidad (ICAB), CSIC‐Universidad de Oviedo‐Principado de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain
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