Alternative mating tactics in a cannibalistic widow spider: do males prefer the safer option?

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216224%3A14310%2F20%3A00117040" target="_blank" >RIV/00216224:14310/20:00117040 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.11.021" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.11.021</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.11.021" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.11.021</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Alternative mating tactics in a cannibalistic widow spider: do males prefer the safer option?

Original language description

Mating generally occurs with adult females, which undergo a suite of changes in morphology, physiology and behaviour during maturation. In the brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus, however, males can mate with immature females during a short period before they moult to the adult stage. Mating with immature females seems beneficial for males, because they are not at risk of being cannibalized, whereas cannibalism inevitably occurs in matings with adult females. We conducted choice experiments to elucidate male preference, courtship and mating behaviour with immature and adult females of different ages. We controlled for age of the females' webs to provide males with potential web-borne attractants of similar age. We tested whether males distinguish immature females that are ready to mate (late subadult stage) from adult females and from immature females that do not mate (early subadults), and we examined male response to young versus old adult females. Males approached and mated with adult females more frequently than late subadult females, but there were no differences in the frequencies of approach to early and late subadults or to adult females of different ages. Once on the web, however, males attempted to mate with the late subadults. We suggest that web-borne volatile cues, typical of adult females, may be reduced or lacking in late subadult females, yet less volatile cues may indicate receptivity.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10613 - Zoology

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2020

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Animal Behaviour

ISSN

0003-3472

e-ISSN

1095-8282

Volume of the periodical

160

Issue of the periodical within the volume

FEB 2020

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

7

Pages from-to

53-59

UT code for WoS article

000512386000006

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85076985555