Copulatory behaviour increases sperm viability in female spiders

Cargnelutti, Franco; Calbacho‐Rosa, Lucía; Uñates, Diego Rafael; Costa-Schmidt, Luiz Ernesto; Córdoba‐Aguilar, Alex; Peretti, Alfredo V.

doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blaa130

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 85 publications

(110 reference statements)

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“…Considering that males also remove rival spermatozoa from the female uterus externus in mated females (Calbacho-Rosa et al, 2013), the combination of both strategies could give these males a substantial advantage against the first mating males. However, the males that copulate with virgin females may have strategies to avoid a total loss of paternity (see Cargnelutti et al, 2018Cargnelutti et al, , 2020. Another interesting aspect that could help to elucidate whether CFC contributed to the evolution of pedipalp movements is whether males modulate this behaviour considering female characteristics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, to our knowledge, there are no detailed studies in spiders that investigate the effect of such movements on the dynamics of spermatozoa once inside the female. Only one study analysed the impact of such behaviour on the spermatozoa viability inside the females without finding significant results (Cargnelutti et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These movements include strong squeezes and torsion movements that twist and squeeze the female abdomen (Calbacho-Rosa et al, 2013;Cargnelutti et al, 2018;Huber, 1995). During Phase II, or postinsemination behaviour, where no apparent pedipalp movements are observed and no spermatozoa transfer occurs (Cargnelutti et al, 2018), males may stimulate the female with imperceptible movements or by pressure with the distal part of the procursus (a unique modification of the pedipalp tarsus in pholcid spiders, Huber, 2014) inside the female genitalia (Cargnelutti et al, 2018(Cargnelutti et al, , 2020. Notwithstanding, it is not clarified yet whether the spermatozoa transfer occurs at the beginning, at the end or throughout all Phase I.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genital movements are not restricted to spermatozoa transfer in a haplogyne spider

2021

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Internally fertilized animals are characterized by the transfer of their spermatozoa during copulation. However, the duration of copulation is highly variable, which suggests that they may serve for other functions apart from spermatozoa transfer. For example, during copulation, males can stimulate the female by using genitalic movements and/or by positioning their spermatozoa adequately within the female genitalia. In the spider Holocnemus pluchei, males perform strong squeezes and torsion movements with their pedipalps (part of their genitalia actively related to copulation) inside the female genitalia and transfer their spermatozoa during Phase I of copulation. However, the exact moment in which such transfer occurs and its relation to the pedipalp movements are still unknown. Herein, we first have identified the precise moment when the spermatozoa transfer occurs during phase I and its relation to genital movements by interrupting mating couples at the beginning, at middle and at end of this phase. Subsequently, the spermatozoa number remaining in male genitalia and stored in female genitalia were counted. We detected no relation between the number of genital movements and the spermatozoa number present in both, female and male genitalia and body size. As stated above, male genital movements serve another role during copulation in addition to spermatozoa transfer in a context of post‐copulatory sexual selection; most likely, they stimulate the female in a cryptic female choice framework.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genital movements are not restricted to spermatozoa transfer in a haplogyne spider

2021

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Successive matings affect copulatory courtship but not sperm transfer in a spider model

Cargnelutti

Calbacho‐Rosa

Córdoba‐Aguilar

et al. 2021

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Previous studies have reported that males augment their reproductive success by increasing the number of females with which they copulate, and that such copulations are not energetically demanding in terms of trivial sperm production costs. However, we now know that males do pay reproductive costs. As males mate successively, a reduction in the performance of copulatory behaviours would be expected, as well as in the number of sperm transferred. Here we compared the duration of courtship, mating and post-insemination phase, the number of genital and non-genital copulatory courtship occurrences, and the number of sperm transferred in successive matings in Holocnemus pluchei spider males. As matings increased in males, there was no effect on the duration of courtship, mating or post-insemination phase. Interestingly, genital copulatory courtship varied in successive copulations depending on male size, but there was no change in the number of sperm transferred. In addition, the occurrence of non-genital copulatory courtship decreased along successive copulations. The negative effects of successive matings on copulatory courtship indicate that these behaviours are costly for males, except for the number of sperm transferred. Our research lays the foundation for future studies on male costs as a function of mating history in spiders.

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A spider mating plug functions to protect sperm

Jiang,

Zhan,

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Mating plugs in animals are ubiquitous and are commonly interpreted to be products of mating strategies. In spiders, however, mating plugs may also take on functions beyond female remating prevention. Due to the vagaries of female genital (spermathecal) anatomy, most spiders face the problem of having to secure additional, non-anatomical, protection for transferred sperm. Here, we test the hypothesis that mating plugs, rather than (or in addition to) being adaptations for mating strategies, may serve as sperm protection mechanism. Based on a comparative study on 411 epigyna sampled from 36 families, 187 genera, 330 species of entelegyne spiders, our results confirm the necessity of a sperm protection mechanism. We divided the entelegyne spermathecae into four types: SEG, SED, SCG and SCD. We also studied detailed morphology of epigynal tracts in the spider Diphya wulingensis having the SEG type spermathecae, using 3D-reconstruction based on semi thin histological series section. In this species, we hypothesize that two distinct types of mating plug, the sperm plug and the secretion plug, serve different functions. Morphological details support this: sperm plugs are formed on a modified spermathecal wall by the spilled sperm, and function as a temporary protection mechanism to prevent sperm from leaking and desiccating, while secretion plugs function in postcopulation both as a permanent protection mechanism, and to prevent additional mating. Furthermore, with the modified spermathecal wall of S2 stalk, the problem of shunt of sperm input and output, and the possibility of female multiple mating have been resolved. Variation in spermathecal morphology also suggests that the problem of sperm protection might be resolved in different ways in spiders. Considering mating plugs of varying shapes and origins in the vast morphospace of spiders, we conclude that mating plugs might serve different purposes that relate both to mating strategies, as well as to sperm protection.

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Copulatory behaviour increases sperm viability in female spiders

Cited by 4 publications

References 85 publications

Genital movements are not restricted to spermatozoa transfer in a haplogyne spider

Genital movements are not restricted to spermatozoa transfer in a haplogyne spider

Successive matings affect copulatory courtship but not sperm transfer in a spider model

A spider mating plug functions to protect sperm

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