IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/beheco/v23y2012i1p1-10..html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Modeling male reproductive strategies and optimal mate number in an orb-web spider

Author

Listed:
  • Clare C. Rittschof
  • Samantha A. Hilber
  • M. Scarlett Tudor
  • Colette M. St Mary

Abstract

It is widely accepted that males maximize their reproductive success by maximizing their number of mates. However, empirical evidence shows that males, like females, may use complex strategies to allocate their reproductive investment, and optimize, rather than maximize, their mate number. We use a dynamic state model to evaluate male mating strategies and mate number in the golden orb-web spider Nephila clavipes. In this spider, males move among female webs and compete to copulate with the web owner. Pre- and postcopulatory competition for fertilizations is a function of female age and mated status. Thus, males experience a heterogeneous mating environment. In addition, because males have very limited sperm, there is strong selection on males to optimize their mating strategies. We determine the major factors that limit male mate number and assess whether males use size-based strategies to maximize their reproductive success. Results suggest that there is more than one mate number optimum for males. Male reproductive success from mating monogynously with a virgin female is similar to reproductive success from mating promiscuously. Mean reproductive success decreases over the course of the season. Mate guarding and mating multiply are traded-off by males depending on potential reproductive rate and male size. Variation in female quality favors multiple mating but not choosiness unless the costs of reproduction are extreme. Finally, males of different sizes achieve similar reproductive success but employ size-dependent strategies

Suggested Citation

  • Clare C. Rittschof & Samantha A. Hilber & M. Scarlett Tudor & Colette M. St Mary, 2012. "Modeling male reproductive strategies and optimal mate number in an orb-web spider," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 23(1), pages 1-10.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:beheco:v:23:y:2012:i:1:p:1-10.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/beheco/arr142
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael M. Kasumovic & Matthew J. Bruce & Marie E. Herberstein & Maydianne C.B. Andrade, 2007. "Risky mate search and mate preference in the golden orb-web spider (Nephila plumipes)," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 18(1), pages 189-195, January.
    2. Lutz Fromhage & Jutta M. Schneider, 2006. "Emasculation to plug up females: the significance of pedipalp damage in Nephila fenestrata," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 17(3), pages 353-357, May.
    3. Michael M. Kasumovic & Damian O. Elias & Senthurran Sivalinghem & Andrew C. Mason & Maydianne C.B. Andrade, 2010. "Examination of prior contest experience and the retention of winner and loser effects," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 21(2), pages 404-409.
    4. Tim W. Fawcett & Rufus A. Johnstone, 2003. "Mate choice in the face of costly competition," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 14(6), pages 771-779, November.
    5. Jonathan S.F. Lee, 2005. "Alternative reproductive tactics and status-dependent selection," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 16(3), pages 566-570, May.
    6. Clare C. Rittschof, 2010. "Male density affects large-male advantage in the golden silk spider, Nephila clavipes," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 21(5), pages 979-985.
    7. Maydianne C. B. Andrade, 2003. "Risky mate search and male self-sacrifice in redback spiders," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 14(4), pages 531-538, July.
    8. Christopher E. Hill & Çağlar Akçay & S. Elizabeth Campbell & Michael D. Beecher, 2011. "Extrapair paternity, song, and genetic quality in song sparrows," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 22(1), pages 73-81.
    9. Clare C. Rittschof, 2011. "Mortality risk affects mating decisions in the spider Nephila clavipes," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 22(2), pages 350-357.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Matjaž Kuntner & Jonathan A Coddington, 2009. "Discovery of the Largest Orbweaving Spider Species: The Evolution of Gigantism in Nephila," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 4(10), pages 1-5, October.
    2. Sophia Callander & Patricia R. Y. Backwell & Michael D. Jennions, 2012. "Context-dependent male mate choice: the effects of competitor presence and competitor size," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 23(2), pages 355-360.
    3. Roslyn Dakin & Robert Montgomerie, 2014. "Condition-dependent mate assessment and choice by peahens: implications for sexual selection," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 25(5), pages 1097-1104.
    4. Zachary Emberts & Christine W. Miller & Daniel Kiehl & Colette M. St. Mary, 2017. "Cut your losses: self-amputation of injured limbs increases survival," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 28(4), pages 1047-1054.
    5. Christina. J. Painting & Gregory I. Holwell, 2014. "Flexible alternative mating tactics by New Zealand giraffe weevils," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 25(6), pages 1409-1416.
    6. John O MartinIII & Nancy Tyler Burley, 2021. "Elucidating mutual mate choice: effects of trial design on preferences of male zebra finches," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 32(6), pages 1306-1320.
    7. Michael E Price & Nicholas Pound & James Dunn & Sian Hopkins & Jinsheng Kang, 2013. "Body Shape Preferences: Associations with Rater Body Shape and Sociosexuality," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(1), pages 1-9, January.
    8. Angelika Poesel & Douglas A. Nelson & H. Lisle Gibbs, 2012. "Song sharing correlates with social but not extrapair mating success in the white-crowned sparrow," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 23(3), pages 627-634.
    9. Charles Cunningham & Jorge E Parra & Lucy Coals & Marcela Beltrán & Sama Zefania & Tamás Székely, 2018. "Social interactions predict genetic diversification: an experimental manipulation in shorebirds," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 29(3), pages 609-618.
    10. Çağlar Akçay & William A. Searcy & S. Elizabeth Campbell & Veronica A. Reed & Christopher N. Templeton & Kayla M. Hardwick & Michael D. Beecher, 2012. "Who initiates extrapair mating in song sparrows?," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 23(1), pages 44-50.
    11. Martha Lucía Baena & Rogelio Macías-Ordóñez, 2015. "Mobility and mating frequency in the scramble competition polygyny of a chrysomelid beetle," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 26(2), pages 416-424.
    12. Anna Favati & Hanne Løvlie & Olof Leimar, 2017. "Individual aggression, but not winner–loser effects, predicts social rank in male domestic fowl," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 28(3), pages 874-882.
    13. Carolin Dittrich & Ariel Rodríguez & Ori Segev & Sanja Drakulić & Heike Feldhaar & Miguel Vences & Mark-Oliver Rödel & Michael TaborskyHandling editor, 2018. "Temporal migration patterns and mating tactics influence size-assortative mating in Rana temporaria," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 29(2), pages 418-428.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:beheco:v:23:y:2012:i:1:p:1-10.. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://academic.oup.com/beheco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.