The influence of vibratory courtship on female mating behaviour in orb-web spiders (Argiope keyserlingi, Karsch 1878).

Web-building spiders are important models for sexual selection. While our understanding of post-copulatory mechanisms including sperm competition and cryptic female choice is considerable, our knowledge of courtship and how it influences male and female mating decisions is still extremely poor. Here...

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Main Authors: Anne E Wignall, Marie E Herberstein
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3547032?pdf=render
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spelling doaj-f9c17a35961d47698ad24d4d8885fe002020-11-25T00:57:40ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0181e5305710.1371/journal.pone.0053057The influence of vibratory courtship on female mating behaviour in orb-web spiders (Argiope keyserlingi, Karsch 1878).Anne E WignallMarie E HerbersteinWeb-building spiders are important models for sexual selection. While our understanding of post-copulatory mechanisms including sperm competition and cryptic female choice is considerable, our knowledge of courtship and how it influences male and female mating decisions is still extremely poor. Here, we provide the first comprehensive description of male courtship behaviour and vibrations generated in the web by the orb-web spider, Argiope keyserlingi - a recognised model species. We identified three main elements of male courtship: shudders, abdominal wags and mating thread dances (including both plucks and bounces). The vibrations generated by these behaviours are described in detail. Male shuddering behaviour appears to have a strong influence on female latency to mate acceptance, with males that shudder at high rates without compromising shudder duration being preferred. Shuddering behaviour may also mediate female aggressive behaviour, with males that generate long shudders less likely to be cannibalised after copulation. Male abdominal wagging behaviour, however, appears to have only limited influence on female mating decisions. This study provides avenues for future work that synthesises pre- and post-copulatory mechanisms in web-building spiders to generate an all-encompassing model of how sexual selection operates.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3547032?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Anne E Wignall
Marie E Herberstein
spellingShingle Anne E Wignall
Marie E Herberstein
The influence of vibratory courtship on female mating behaviour in orb-web spiders (Argiope keyserlingi, Karsch 1878).
PLoS ONE
author_facet Anne E Wignall
Marie E Herberstein
author_sort Anne E Wignall
title The influence of vibratory courtship on female mating behaviour in orb-web spiders (Argiope keyserlingi, Karsch 1878).
title_short The influence of vibratory courtship on female mating behaviour in orb-web spiders (Argiope keyserlingi, Karsch 1878).
title_full The influence of vibratory courtship on female mating behaviour in orb-web spiders (Argiope keyserlingi, Karsch 1878).
title_fullStr The influence of vibratory courtship on female mating behaviour in orb-web spiders (Argiope keyserlingi, Karsch 1878).
title_full_unstemmed The influence of vibratory courtship on female mating behaviour in orb-web spiders (Argiope keyserlingi, Karsch 1878).
title_sort influence of vibratory courtship on female mating behaviour in orb-web spiders (argiope keyserlingi, karsch 1878).
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2013-01-01
description Web-building spiders are important models for sexual selection. While our understanding of post-copulatory mechanisms including sperm competition and cryptic female choice is considerable, our knowledge of courtship and how it influences male and female mating decisions is still extremely poor. Here, we provide the first comprehensive description of male courtship behaviour and vibrations generated in the web by the orb-web spider, Argiope keyserlingi - a recognised model species. We identified three main elements of male courtship: shudders, abdominal wags and mating thread dances (including both plucks and bounces). The vibrations generated by these behaviours are described in detail. Male shuddering behaviour appears to have a strong influence on female latency to mate acceptance, with males that shudder at high rates without compromising shudder duration being preferred. Shuddering behaviour may also mediate female aggressive behaviour, with males that generate long shudders less likely to be cannibalised after copulation. Male abdominal wagging behaviour, however, appears to have only limited influence on female mating decisions. This study provides avenues for future work that synthesises pre- and post-copulatory mechanisms in web-building spiders to generate an all-encompassing model of how sexual selection operates.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3547032?pdf=render
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