Sexual cannibalism and mate choice

Prenter, John; MacNeil, Calum; Elwood, Robert W.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.05.011

Cited by 90 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Minors of other species influence the outcome of sperm competitions by means of producing sperm that swims faster or contains more energy (Locatello et al 2007). Males in some male-monomorphic species are known to invest into agents that increase their mate's fecundity, for instance nuptial gifts, which are compounds beneficial to the female through their nutritional value such as glandular products (Vahed 1998) prey, (part of) the male body (Eggert and Sakaluk 1994;Prenter et al 2006) or seminal gifts (Bownes and Partridge 1987;Markow et al 1990;Eisner et al 1996;Edvardsson 2007;Gwynne 2008). However, whether or not minor males invest into nuptial gifts to increase their mate's reproductive success is, to our knowledge, unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Male nutritional history affects female fecundity in a male-dimorphic mite: Evidence for a nuptial gift?

Beuken

Smallegange

2018

Evol Ecol

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In male-dimorphic species, males are often either armoured 'majors' that can monopolise access to females, or unarmoured and defenceless 'minors' that cannot. However, majors, unlike minors, have to spend energy to maintain their weaponry. Like-for-like, this could mean that minors have relatively more energy available to increase their reproductive output through e.g. sperm competition, or the transference of nutrients by means of a nuptial gift. Such a fitness advantage to minors could therefore contribute to explaining the coexistence of both morphs in single populations. We tested if food-deprived females of the male-dimorphic bulb mite Rhizoglyphus robini produced more eggs when mated to a minor or to a major male, and whether egg production depended on whether their mates were starved or fed prior to mating. We found no effect of male morph on female fecundity, but females did produce more eggs when mated to previously fed males. We also found that females increased in mass, but males decreased in mass over the course of the experiment. From these observations we infer that fed males are able to transfer nutrients, a nuptial gift, to their mate. This is the first observation to suggest nuptial gift transfer in mites. Though males of both morphs appeared able to produce nuptial gifts; other factors, like habitat complexity, should be considered to identify fitness benefits of minor over major males to understand why the two morphs coexist.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Male nutritional history affects female fecundity in a male-dimorphic mite: Evidence for a nuptial gift?

Beuken

Smallegange

2018

Evol Ecol

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“…Precopulatory sexual cannibalism can be a risky behavior, especially for virgin females, since they may remain unmated because of their actions, assuming no additional suitors are encountered (Arnqvist & Henriksson, 1997;Elgar, 1992). However, precopulatory sexual cannibalism may become more likely if males are perceived to be more abundant and if females use cannibalism as a mechanism of mate choice, selectively cannibalizing nonpreferred mates (Darwin, 1871;Elgar, 1992;Elgar & Nash, 1988;Elgar & Schneider, 2004;Hebets, 2003;Johnson, 2005;Prenter, MacNeil, & Elwood, 2006). Given the significant increase in the frequency of precopulatory sexual cannibalism after females had encountered two males (68% cannibalized the third male prior to copulation, experiment 1), D. tenebrosus females may be using precopulatory sexual cannibalism as a means of rejecting additional mates, whether or not the males are preferred.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Obligate male death and sexual cannibalism in dark fishing spiders

2014

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“…First, there is an inverse relationship between the courtship duration of the first male to mate and the number of copulations the female accepts from a rival (Snow & Andrade 2005;Snow et al 2006;Stoltz et al 2009). Second, females often kill and cannibalize smaller, rapidly copulating males prior to completion of a normal mating (premature lethal cannibalism; Stoltz et al 2008), which reduces paternity by 50 per cent under sperm competition (Snow & Andrade 2005; see also Prenter et al 2006). In contrast, larger, longer-courting males mate normally.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, larger, longer-courting males mate normally. Thus, female choice is apparently linked to courtship effort as well as male size (Stoltz et al , 2009; see also Prenter et al 2006), and selection imposed by females may have resulted in males that attempt mating only after satisfying the female's threshold duration of courtship.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female's courtship threshold allows intruding males to mate with reduced effort

Stoltz

Andrade

2009

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Female decision rules can influence the nature and intensity of sexual selection on males, but empirical demonstrations of rules underlying choice are rare. We hypothesized that female choice is largely based on a courtship duration threshold in the Australian redback spider (Latrodectus hasselti ) because females kill males before copulation is complete (premature cannibalism) and reduce their paternity if courtship is brief. We used published data to infer that the female's threshold is approximately 100 min of courtship. We support this hypothesis by showing that premature cannibalism is common when the male's courtship duration is below this threshold, but is infrequent and unrelated to duration once courtship exceeds the threshold. We then ask whether females discriminate the source of courtship when rival males compete, as this will determine the effect of the threshold on male competitive tactics. We staged competitions where 'resident' males initially courted females in the absence of competition, exceeding the courtship threshold before 'intruding' males were introduced. Intruding males mated rapidly but were not prematurely cannibalized by females, in contrast to cases where competition starts before the threshold is surpassed. This suggests females do not distinguish which male satisfies the threshold, allowing intruders to parasitize the courtship efforts of residents. To our knowledge, such exploitation of mating efforts by rival males mediated by a female choice threshold has not been demonstrated elsewhere. Ironically, this female choice threshold and the attendant possibility of courtship parasitism may lead to selection for lower-quality males to recognize and seek out (rather than avoid) webs in which competitors are already present.

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Sexual cannibalism and mate choice

Cited by 90 publications

References 72 publications

Male nutritional history affects female fecundity in a male-dimorphic mite: Evidence for a nuptial gift?

Male nutritional history affects female fecundity in a male-dimorphic mite: Evidence for a nuptial gift?

Obligate male death and sexual cannibalism in dark fishing spiders

Female's courtship threshold allows intruding males to mate with reduced effort

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