Sexual selection for male sacrifice in the Australian redback spider

Science

Volumn 271, Issue 5245, 1996, Pages 70-72

  Andrade, Maydianne C B ^a,b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO   (Canada)

^b Department of Obstetrics Gynecology   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR; ARTICLE; AUSTRALIA; CANNIBALISM; COPULATION; FERTILIZATION; MALE; MATING; NONHUMAN; PRIORITY JOURNAL; SEXUAL BEHAVIOR; SPIDER; SUICIDE;

LATRODECTUS HASSELTI;

EID: 0030021204     PISSN: 00368075     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1126/science.271.5245.70     Document Type: Article

References (36)

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3. S J Gould, Nat. Hist. 9, 10 (1984), I. G. Jamieson, Am. Nat 127, 195 (1986); M Andersson, Sexual Selection (Princeton Univ Press, Princeton, NJ, 1994)
4. S J Gould, Nat. Hist. 9, 10 (1984), I. G. Jamieson, Am. Nat 127, 195 (1986); M Andersson, Sexual Selection (Princeton Univ Press, Princeton, NJ, 1994)
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11. M C B. Andrade, thesis, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada (1996)
12. Female redbacks do not behaviorally induce males to somersault onto their chelicerae. Forster (6) reports that redback males always somersault in heterospecific pairings with the closely related Latrodectus katipo (a species in which the copulatory somersault does not normally occur) In addition, there is no unique structural aspect of redback genitalia that would make a somersault necessary for successful sperm transfer. Redback spider genitalia are indistinguishable from those of the North American black widow, I. mactans, which does not somersault [H W Levi, Science 127, 1055 (1958), Trans. Am. Microsc. Soc 78, 7 (1966)]
13. Female redbacks do not behaviorally induce males to somersault onto their chelicerae. Forster (6) reports that redback males always somersault in heterospecific pairings with the closely related Latrodectus katipo (a species in which the copulatory somersault does not normally occur) In addition, there is no unique structural aspect of redback genitalia that would make a somersault necessary for successful sperm transfer. Redback spider genitalia are indistinguishable from those of the North American black widow, I. mactans, which does not somersault [H W Levi, Science 127, 1055 (1958), Trans. Am. Microsc. Soc 78, 7 (1966)]
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16. Spiders were collected on the grounds of the University of Western Australia and the Western Australia Department of Agriculture (Perth. Western Australia, in December 1993 and January 1994) and weighed with a Mettler AE50 balance that was accurate to 0 1 mg.
17. Male spiders copulate with paired structures (emboli) that are inserted through separate coiled ducts into the paired sperm storage organs (spermathecae) of the female In Latrodectus, the tip of the male's embolus always breaks off during insertion and romains inside the spermathecae or coiled ducts (19) By counting broken emboli inside 23 nonvirgin females (collected near Perth, Western Australia, in January 1994), I determined that 30.4% (7/23) had received only one palpal insertion, 52.2% (12/23) had received two palpal insertions and so had mated with one or two males, and 17.4% (4/23) had received three palpal insertions and so had mated with at least two and possibly three mates.
18. 2 in the NI group equaled 1 - x.
19. 2 in the NI group equaled 1 - x.
20. When the spermathecae of field-collected females (n = 23) were dissected (14), a total of 43 emboli were discovered. Of these, the majority (40/43) were located inside the female spermathecae rather than in the coiled ducts, suggesting that most males ejaculate directly into the sperm storage organ Ejaculates of second males might then mix randomly with sperm already in the spermatheca, which suggests that increased sperm transfer is the mechanism by which longer copulation durations result in increased paternity
21. Female rejection behavior is distinct and readily observable In interactions that led to a successful copulation, the female remained quiescent in the web during most of the male's courtship In comparison, rejection behavior consisted of a female repeatedly hitting at a courting male with her front legs, causing the male to drop from the web on a dragline The male usually returned to the web and resumed courtship after the first few displacements, but nonreceptive females continued this behavior until the male eventually ceased courtship completely and moved to the substrate below the web.
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25. R. G. Breene and M H. Sweet, J Arachnol 13, 331 (1985); B. J Kaston, Trans San Diego Soc. Nat Hist 16, 33 (1970); J. W Abalos and E. C. Baez, Psyche 70, 197 (1963); R D. S. Bhalnagar and J. G Rempel, Can J. Zool 40, 465 (1962)
26. R. G. Breene and M H. Sweet, J Arachnol 13, 331 (1985); B. J Kaston, Trans San Diego Soc. Nat Hist 16, 33 (1970); J. W Abalos and E. C. Baez, Psyche 70, 197 (1963); R D. S. Bhalnagar and J. G Rempel, Can J. Zool 40, 465 (1962)
27. R. G. Breene and M H. Sweet, J Arachnol 13, 331 (1985); B. J Kaston, Trans San Diego Soc. Nat Hist 16, 33 (1970); J. W Abalos and E. C. Baez, Psyche 70, 197 (1963); R D. S. Bhalnagar and J. G Rempel, Can J. Zool 40, 465 (1962)
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32. S. K Sakaluk, Science 223, 609 (1984); Evolution 40, 584 (1986), N. Wedell, ibid. 45, 1975 (1991); ibid 47, 1203 (1993); D T. Gwynne, in Arthropod Social Systems, J Choe and B. Crespi, Eds (Princeton Univ Press, Princeton, NJ, in press).
33. S. K Sakaluk, Science 223, 609 (1984); Evolution 40, 584 (1986), N. Wedell, ibid. 45, 1975 (1991); ibid 47, 1203 (1993); D T. Gwynne, in Arthropod Social Systems, J Choe and B. Crespi, Eds (Princeton Univ Press, Princeton, NJ, in press).
34. S. K Sakaluk, Science 223, 609 (1984); Evolution 40, 584 (1986), N. Wedell, ibid. 45, 1975 (1991); ibid 47, 1203 (1993); D T. Gwynne, in Arthropod Social Systems, J Choe and B. Crespi, Eds (Princeton Univ Press, Princeton, NJ, in press).
35. S. K Sakaluk, Science 223, 609 (1984); Evolution 40, 584 (1986), N. Wedell, ibid. 45, 1975 (1991); ibid 47, 1203 (1993); D T. Gwynne, in Arthropod Social Systems, J Choe and B. Crespi, Eds (Princeton Univ Press, Princeton, NJ, in press).
36. I thank my supervisor, D T. Gwynne, for considerable discussion and comments on this work and manuscript, W J Andersen, S T. Emlen, L M Forster, P. D. Lorch, A C Mason, and P W. Sherman for comments on the project or earlier versions of the manuscript, an anonymous reviewer for valuable suggestions; and W. J Bailey, I. Dadour, C. Thomas, B. York Main, the University of Western Australia, and the Western Australia Department of Agriculture for facilitating my fieldwork Supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (operating grant to D T. Gwynne and a 1967 Science and Technology scholarship to M.C.B A)