Vibratory communication in the jumping spider Phidippus clarus: polyandry, male courtship signals, and mating success

AbstractWe studied the role of male courtship behaviour in female mate choice in red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus), the ancestor of domestic chickens. The traits most highly correlated with behavioural displays were those most relied upon by females in making mate choice decisions. These traits (comb length, comb colour, eye colour, and spur length) are highly condition-dependent in jungle fowl. Females chose males that displayed at a greater overall intensity in the period after the female was allowed to interact with the males (post-release), but were indifferent to displays during the period before the female could approach the roosters (pre-release). After accounting for the effect of morphology on mate choice, waltzes were the only display that explained a significant amount of variation in male mating success. Chosen and rejected males had different display rates even when the female was not present. Plasma testosterone level was correlated with pre-release behaviours, but not with post-release behaviours or mating success.

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Offspring viability benefits but no apparent costs of mating with high quality males

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2010.0976 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 419-421 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Leigh W. Simmons ◽

Rebecca Holley

Keyword(s):

Sexual Selection ◽

Sexual Conflict ◽

Alternative Hypothesis ◽

Dung Beetle ◽

Male Courtship ◽

High Quality ◽

Female Resistance ◽

Genetic Quality ◽

Onthophagus Taurus ◽

Courtship Signals

Traditional models of sexual selection posit that male courtship signals evolve as indicators of underlying male genetic quality. An alternative hypothesis is that sexual conflict over mating generates antagonistic coevolution between male courtship persistence and female resistance. In the scarabaeine dung beetle Onthophagus taurus , females are more likely to mate with males that have high courtship rates. Here, we examine the effects of exposing females to males with either high or low courtship rates on female lifetime productivity and offspring viability. Females exposed to males with high courtship rates mated more often and produced offspring with greater egg–adult viability. Female productivity and lifespan were unaffected by exposure to males with high courtship rates. The data are consistent with models of sexual selection based on indirect genetic benefits, and provide little evidence for sexual conflict in this system.

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Mating behavior of the Persian boxer mantid, Holaptilon brevipugilis (Mantodea: Mantidae)

Journal of Orthoptera Research ◽

10.3897/jor.29.37595 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 35-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mahmood Kolnegari

Keyword(s):

Mating Behavior ◽

Mating Success ◽

Relative Frequency ◽

Sexual Cannibalism ◽

Male Courtship ◽

Courtship Display ◽

Hunger Level ◽

Mating Behaviors ◽

Courtship Behaviors ◽

Determining Factor

The Persian boxer mantid, Holaptilon brevipugilis, is the mantid most recently described from Iran. Here, I present some aspects of the courtship display and mating behavior of this species. I conducted 28 mating trials, quantified the relative frequency of all mating behaviors, and estimated the pre-copulation, copulation, and post-copulation periods. I also compared the effects of frontal vs. lateral approaches of the male for mating success, since frontal approach increases the risk that the male will be seen and cannibalized by the female. In 64% of trials, the male approached the female immediately, regardless of whether the female could see him or not. Copulation was successful in 61% of trials. Male courtship consisted of dorsoventral bending of the male’s abdomen and occurred in 10% of all trials, but only when the female was facing the male. In contrast, trembling of the forelimbs was not associated with copulation, occurred in 10% of all trials, and was always followed by the male moving away from the female. I observed one female cannibalizing a male post-copulation. The Persian boxer mantid might be sexually cannibalistic, but confirming this hypothesis would require further studies, including a focus on female hunger level as a determining factor in sexual cannibalism and in male courtship behaviors.

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Increased male mating success in the presence of prey and rivals in a sexually cannibalistic mantis

10.1101/2021.01.04.425304 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Nathan William Burke ◽

Gregory I Holwell

Keyword(s):

Sexual Selection ◽

Mating Success ◽

Prey Availability ◽

Intrasexual Competition ◽

Male Mating ◽

Sexual Cannibalism ◽

Male Mating Success ◽

Male Courtship ◽

Male Preference ◽

The Face

Pre-copulatory sexual cannibalism, or cannibalism without mating, is expected to promote the evolution of male strategies that enhance mating success and reduce the risk of cannibalism, such as preferential mating with feeding females. However, sexual selection on male competitiveness may alter male courtship decisions in the face of cannibalism risk. We investigated the effect of prey availability and rival presence on male mating decisions in the highly cannibalistic Springbok mantis, Miomantis caffra. We found that males approached females more rapidly and mated more often in the presence of prey, suggesting that females distracted with foraging may be less of a threat. The presence of a rival also hastened the onset of copulation and led to higher mating success, with very large effects occurring in the presence of both prey and rivals, indicating that intrasexual competition may intensify attraction to foraging females. Taken together, our results suggest that pre-copulatory cannibalism has selected for male preference for foraging females, and that males adjust their mating strategy to both the risk of competition and the threat of cannibalism.

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Male courtship signal modality and female mate preference in the wolf spider Schizocosa ocreata: results of digital multimodal playback studies

Current Zoology ◽

10.1093/cz/zoz025 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 65 (6) ◽

pp. 705-711 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Elizabeth C Kozak ◽

George W Uetz

Keyword(s):

Wolf Spider ◽

Visual Signals ◽

Male Courtship ◽

Schizocosa Ocreata ◽

Multimodal Signals ◽

Courtship Signal ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Courtship Signals ◽

Male Signals ◽

Vibratory Signals

Abstract Females must be able to perceive and assess male signals, especially when they occur simultaneously with those of other males. Previous studies show female Schizocosa ocreata wolf spiders display receptivity to isolated visual or vibratory courtship signals, but increased receptivity to multimodal courtship. It is unknown whether this is true when females are presented with a choice between simultaneous multimodal and isolated unimodal male courtship. We used digital playback to present females with a choice simulating simultaneous male courtship in different sensory modes without variation in information content: 1) isolated unimodal visual versus vibratory signals; 2) multimodal versus vibratory signals; and 3) multimodal versus visual signals. When choosing between isolated unimodal signals (visual or vibratory), there were no significant differences in orientation latency and number of orientations, approaches or receptive displays directed to either signal. When given a choice between multimodal versus vibratory-only male courtship signals, females were more likely to orient to the multimodal stimulus, and directed significantly more orients, approaches and receptivity behaviors to the multimodal signal. When presented with a choice between multimodal and visual-only signals, there were significantly more orients and approaches to the multimodal signal, but no significant difference in female receptivity. Results suggest that signal modes are redundant and equivalent in terms of qualitative responses, but when combined, multimodal signals quantitatively enhance detection and/or reception. This study confirms the value of testing preference behavior using a choice paradigm, as female preferences may depend on the context (e.g., environmental context and social context) in which they are presented with male signals.

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Understanding the Role of Incentive Salience in Sexual Decision-Making

Integrative and Comparative Biology ◽

10.1093/icb/icaa054 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 60 (3) ◽

pp. 712-721 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kathleen S Lynch ◽

Michael J Ryan

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Mate Choice ◽

Incentive Salience ◽

Partner Preference ◽

Male Courtship ◽

Sexual Decision Making ◽

Reward Seeking ◽

Sexual Encounters ◽

Courtship Signals ◽

Preference Tests

Synopsis In the search for understanding female sexual decision-making, progress has been made in uncovering a variety of perceptual biases and most of these concern the animal’s sensory biology and cognitive processes. We are now poised to dig deeper into the female’s decision-making and ask if incentive salience, which plays a role in all types of appetitive behaviors, also influences a female’s “taste for the beautiful.” The incentive salience hypothesis suggests that dopamine assigns value or salience to objects or actions. After value is assigned to all potential actions, an action selection system then chooses among potential options to select the most valuable action. In this view, dopamine stimulates reward-seeking behavior by assigning incentive salience to specific behavioral actions, which in turn, increases pursuit and focus on objects or stimuli that represent the valuable action. Here, we apply this framework to understand why females are compelled to respond maximally to some male courtship signals over others and how this process may reveal a female’s hidden mate preferences. We examine studies of dopamine and the mesolimbic reward system because these may play a role in expanding the female’s perceptual landscape for novelty in male courtship signals and establishing novel hidden preferences. We review three avenues of research that may identify signatures of incentive salience in females during sexual decision-making. This review includes studies of dopamine agonist or antagonist administration in females during mate choice or partner preference tests, measures of neural activity in dopaminergic neural circuits during mate choice or partner preference tests, and social regulation of dopamine in females when entering reproductive contexts and/or exposure to mate signals. By applying the incentive salience hypothesis to female reproductive decision-making, it redefines how we see the female’s role in sexual encounters. Females cannot be considered passive during reproductive encounters; rather they are seeking sexual encounters, particularly with males that tap into their perceptual biases and initiate a reward-seeking response. Incentive salience applied to reproductive behavior requires considering females as viewing sexual stimuli as rewarding and initiating action to seek out this reward, all of which indicates females are driving sexual encounters.

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