Condition dependence of male nuptial gift construction in the spider Pisaura mirabilis (Pisauridae)

Albo, María J.; Toft, Sune; Bilde, Trine

doi:10.1007/s10164-011-0281-1

Cited by 37 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Consistent with prior work, we observed a significant reduction in sigmoid displays in the restricted diet group (Devigili et al 2012), suggesting that this component of male sexual behavior exhibits condition dependence and therefore may provide an honest signal of male quality (van Oosterhout et al 2003;Kolluru and Grether 2005;Kolluru et al 2009;Head et al 2010). Our results also revealed that male sexual interest was influenced by diet (see also Kolluru et al 2009;Albo et al 2011;Devigili et al 2012), suggesting that in guppies, as with some other species, courtship effort is a reliable indicator of male condition (e.g., Shine and Mason 2005;Shamble et al 2009;Kloskowski et al 2012). Furthermore, as with Devigili et al's (2012) study, our results revealed no significant effect of diet quantity on the frequency of gonopodial thrusts.…”

Section: Effect Of Diet On Precopulatory Traitssupporting

confidence: 91%

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Condition‐dependent expression of pre‐ and postcopulatory sexual traits in guppies

Rahman

Kelley

Evans

2013

Ecology and Evolution

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Female choice can impose persistent directional selection on male sexually selected traits, yet such traits often exhibit high levels of phenotypic variation. One explanation for this paradox is that if sexually selected traits are costly, only the fittest males are able to acquire and allocate the resources required for their expression. Furthermore, because male condition is dependent on resource allocation, condition dependence in sexual traits is expected to underlie trade-offs between reproduction and other life-history functions. In this study we test these ideas by experimentally manipulating diet quality (carotenoid levels) and quantity in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), a livebearing freshwater fish that is an important model for understanding relationships between pre- and post-copulatory sexually selected traits. Specifically, we test for condition dependence in the expression of pre- and postcopulatory sexual traits (behavior, ornamentation, sperm traits) and determine whether diet manipulation mediates relationships among these traits. Consistent with prior work we found a significant effect of diet quantity on the expression of both pre- and postcopulatory male traits; diet-restricted males performed fewer sexual behaviors and exhibited significant reductions in color ornamentation, sperm quality, sperm number, and sperm length than those fed ad libitum. However, contrary to our expectations, we found no significant effect of carotenoid manipulation on the expression of any of these traits, and no evidence for a trade-off in resource allocation between pre- and postcopulatory episodes of sexual selection. Our results further underscore the sensitivity of behavioral, ornamental, and ejaculate traits to dietary stress, and highlight the important role of condition dependence in maintaining the high variability in male sexual traits.

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Section: Effect Of Diet On Precopulatory Traitssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…; Albo et al. ; Devigili et al. ), suggesting that in guppies, as with some other species, courtship effort is a reliable indicator of male condition (e.g., Shine and Mason ; Shamble et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Condition‐dependent expression of pre‐ and postcopulatory sexual traits in guppies

Rahman

Kelley

Evans

2013

Ecology and Evolution

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“…In P. mirabilis , copulation duration correlates positively with the amount of sperm transferred (Drengsgaard & Toft, ; Albo et al ., ). Female nuptial gift consumption was shown to determine copulation duration (Lang, ; Stålhandske, ), and copulation duration was significantly longer when males offered genuine gifts compared to worthless gifts (Albo et al ., ). In accordance with a response to increased sperm competition, we found an increase in the frequency of genuine gifts over the season.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interestingly, males that offer worthless gifts are equally likely to be accepted by females as males that offer a genuine gift, at least when females are unmated (Albo et al ., ). If worthless gifts are less costly to produce, this should favour the worthless gift‐giving tactic in the population, as seen in dance flies (Empididae; Preston‐Mafham, ; LeBas & Hockham, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of nuptial gifts in the form of nutritious donations offered to females to facilitate male reproductive success is a common strategy, particularly in insects and spiders (Boggs, 1995;Vahed, 1998;Lewis & South, 2012). Males of the nuptial gift-giving spider Pisaura mirabilis (Clerck, 1757) adopt three different strategies: they can offer a genuine nuptial gift consisting of an insect prey wrapped in silk (Bristowe & Locket, 1926;Nitzsche, 1988;Bilde et al, 2007); they can offer a 'worthless' gift consisting of prey remains, empty exoskeletons or even plant parts wrapped in silk (Nitzsche, 1988;Albo et al, 2011b;Ghislandi et al, 2017); and they can mate without offering any gift at all (St alhandske, 2001;Albo et al, 2011b). Females exert strong preference for males that offer a nuptial gift (St alhandske, 2001;Albo et al, 2011b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Resource availability, mating opportunity and sexual selection intensity influence the expression of male alternative reproductive tactics

Ghislandi

Pekár

Matzke

et al. 2018

J of Evolutionary Biology

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The expression of alternative reproductive tactics can be plastic and occur simultaneously depending on cues that vary spatially or temporally. For example, variation in resources and sexual selection intensity is expected to influence the pay-off of each tactic and shape the decision of which tactic to employ. Males of the nuptial gift-giving spider Pisaura mirabilis can adopt three tactics: offering a genuine prey gift, a 'worthless' non-nutritious gift or no gift. We hypothesized that resources and/or male body condition, and mating opportunity and sexual selection intensity, vary over the course of the mating season to shape the co-existence of alternative traits. We measured these variables in the field over two seasons, to investigate the predictions that as the mating season progresses, (i) males become more likely to employ a gift-giving tactic, and (ii) the likelihood of switching from worthless to genuine gifts increases. Prey availability increased over the season and co-varied with the propensity of males to employ the gift-giving tactic, but we found no support for condition-dependent gift giving. Males responded to an increase in female availability by increasing their mating effort (gift production). Furthermore, the frequency of genuine gift use increased with sexual selection intensity, consistent with the assumption that sperm competition intensity increases with time. Our results suggest that the frequency of alternative tactics is shaped by seasonal changes in ecological factors and sexual selection. This leads to relaxed selection for the gift-giving tactic early in the season when females are less choosy and resources more scarce, and increased selection for genuine gifts later in the season driven by mating opportunity and risk of sperm competition.

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Sexual Selection in Neotropical Spiders: Examples from Selected Groups

Costa-Schmidt

Albo

Bollatti

et al. 2017

Behaviour and Ecology of Spiders

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Condition dependence of male nuptial gift construction in the spider Pisaura mirabilis (Pisauridae)

Cited by 37 publications

References 38 publications

Condition‐dependent expression of pre‐ and postcopulatory sexual traits in guppies

Condition‐dependent expression of pre‐ and postcopulatory sexual traits in guppies

Resource availability, mating opportunity and sexual selection intensity influence the expression of male alternative reproductive tactics

Sexual Selection in Neotropical Spiders: Examples from Selected Groups

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