Differential allocation in a gift-giving spider: males adjust their reproductive investment in response to female condition.

ABSTRACT:

Background

When males are selective, they can either reject low-quality females or adjust their reproductive investment in response to traits that indicate female quality (e.g., body size or condition). According to the differential allocation hypothesis, males increase their reproductive investment when paired with high-quality females (positive differential allocation) or increase their reproductive investment when paired with low-quality females (negative differential allocation). This hypothesis has been proposed for monogamous species with biparental care, and most empirical studies focus on birds. Here we used the polygamous spider Paratrechalea ornata, in which males offer prey wrapped in silk as nuptial gifts, to test whether males adjust their reproductive investment in gi

SUBMITTER: Solano-Brenes D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8268551 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature