Mate-guarding duration is mainly influenced by the risk of sperm competition and not by female quality in a golden orb-weaver spider.

ABSTRACT: Males are expected to mate with as many females as possible, but can maximize their reproductive success through strategic mating decisions. For instance, males can increase their own fitness by mating with high quality females that produce more offspring. Additionally, males can adjust mating effort based on the relative distribution of females and male competitors. To test factors that influence male mate choice, we assessed male mating decisions in the golden silk orb-weaver spider, Trichonephila clavipes (Nephilidae), a species in which females are polyandrous, males guard females before and after copulation occurs and large males are the most successful at guarding mates. We tested the hypothesis that males spend more time guarding high quality females that are spatially isolat

SUBMITTER: Del Matto LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8544249 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature