Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Males make poor meals: a comparison of nutrient extraction during sexual cannibalism and predation

  • Behavioral ecology - Original paper
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Cannibalism is hypothesized to have evolved as a way to obtain a high-quality meal. We examined the extraction of lipid and protein by female wolf spiders, Hogna helluo, during sexual cannibalism of males and predation of crickets. Most food-limited females did not cannibalize males but immediately consumed a size-matched cricket. When consuming male H. helluo and crickets, female H. helluo only consumed 51% of the male body while they consumed 72% of the cricket body. While males had higher protein content in their bodies than crickets and other insects, female H. helluo ingested similar amounts of protein from male H. helluo and crickets. Female H. helluo extracted 47% of the protein present in male H. helluo and 67% of the protein present in crickets. Females were able to extract nearly all of the lipid present in male H. helluo and crickets. However, crickets and other insects had almost 4 times higher lipid content than male H. helluo. The ratio of lipid to protein consumed from crickets appeared more similar to the nutritional requirements of egg production than that of males. Taken together, female hesitancy to engage in cannibalism, low extraction of nutrients from males and a low ratio of lipid to protein in the food extracted from males suggest that males may be poor-quality prey items compared to common insects such as crickets.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andrade MCB (1996) Sexual selection for male sacrifice in the Australian redback spider. Science 271:70–72

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Arnqvist G, Henriksson S (1997) Sexual cannibalism in the fishing spider and a model for the evolution of sexual cannibalism based on genetic constraints. Evol Ecol 11:255–273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barry KL, Holwell GI, Herberstein ME (2009) Female praying mantids use sexual cannibalism as a foraging strategy to increase fecundity. Behav Ecol

  • Bernard JB, Allen ME (1997) Feeding captive insectivorous animals: nutritional aspects of insects as food. Nutrition Advisory Group, American Zoo and Aquarium Association

  • Birkhead TR, Lee KE, Young P (1988) Sexual cannibalism in the praying mantid Hierodula membranacea. Behavior 106:112–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calow P (1979) The cost of reproduction: a physiological approach. Biol Rev 54:23–40

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Casas J, Pincebourde S, Mandon N, Vannier F, Poujol R, Giron D (2005) Lifetime nutrient dynamics reveal simultaneous capital and income breeding in a parasitoid. Ecology 86:545–554

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen AC (1995) Extraoral digestion in predaceous terrestrial arthropoda. Annu Rev Entomol 40:85–103

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crump ML (1990) Possible enhancement of growth in tadpoles through cannibalism. Copeia 2:560–564

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denno RF, Fagan WF (2003) Might nitrogen limitation promote omnivory among carnivorous arthropods? Ecology 84:2522–2531

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elgar MA, Crespi BJ (1992) Cannibalism: ecology and evolution among diverse taxa. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Elgar MA, Schneider JM (2004) Evolutionary significance of sexual cannibalism. Adv Stud Behav 34:135–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elgar MA, Schneider JM, Herberstein ME (2000) Female control of paternity in the sexually cannibalistic spider Argiope keyserlingi. Proc R Soc Lond B 267:2439–2443

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fagan WF, Denno RF (2004) Stoichiometry of actual versus potential predator-prey interactions: insights into nitrogen limitation for arthropod predators. Ecol Lett 7:876–883

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fagan WF, Siemann E, Mitter C, Denno RF, Huberty AF, Woods HA, Elser JJ (2002) Nitrogen in insects: implications for trophic complexity and species diversification. Am Nat 160:784–802

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fahey BF, Elgar MA (1997) Sexual cohabitation as mate-guarding in the leaf-curling spider Phonognatha graeffei Keyserling (Araneoidea, Araneae). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 40:127–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fromhage L, Uhl G, Schneider JM (2003) Fitness consequences of sexual cannibalism in female Argiope bruennichi. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 55:60–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gende SM, Quinn TP, Willson MF (2001) Consumption choice by bears feeding on salmon. Oecologia 127:372–382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harshman LG, Zera AJ (2007) The cost of reproduction: the devil in the details. Trends Ecol Evol 22:80–86

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Helms KR, Vinson SB (2002) Widespread association of the invasive ant Solenopsis invicta with an invasive mealybug. Ecology 83:2425–2438

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horowitz H (2002) Official methods of analysis of the AOAC International. AOAC, Gaithersburg

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard LO (1886) The excessive voracity of the female mantis. Science 8:326

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt J, Brooks R, Jennions MD, Smith MJ, Bentsen CL, Bussiere LF (2004) High-quality male field crickets invest heavily in sexual display but die young. Nature 432:1024–1027

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson JC (2001) Sexual cannibalism in fishing spiders (Dolomedes triton): an evaluation of two explanations for female aggresstion towards potential mates. Anim Behav 61:905–914

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson JC, Sih A (2005) Precopulatory sexual cannibalism in fishing spiders (Dolomedes triton): a role for behavioral syndromes. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 58:390–396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knoflach B, Van Harten A (2001) Tidarren argo sp Nov (Araneae: Theridiidae) and its exceptional copulatory behaviour: emasculation, male palpal organ as a mating plug and sexual cannibalism. J Zool 254:449–459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matsumura M, Trafelet-Smith GM, Gratton C, Finke DL, Fagan WF, Denno RF (2004) Does intraguild predation enhance predator performance: a stoichiometric perspective. Ecology 85:2601–2615

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell MR (1999) The risk of cannibalism and male mating behavior in the Mediterranean praying mantid, Iris oratoria. Behaviour 136:205–219

    Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell MR (2000) Does a single meal affect female reproductive output in the sexually cannibalistic praying mantid Iris oratoria? Ecol Entomol 25:54–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayntz D, Toft S (2001) Nutrient composition of the prey’s diet affects growth and survivorship of a generalist predator. Oecologia 127:207–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayntz D, Toft S (2006) Nutritional value of cannibalism and the role of starvation and nutrient imbalance for cannibalistic tendencies in a generalist predator. J Anim Ecol 75:288–297

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mayntz D, Raubenheimer D, Salomon M, Toft S, Simpson SJ (2005) Nutrient-specific foraging in invertebrate predators. Science 307:111–113

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Meffe GK, Crump ML (1987) Possible growth and reproductive benefits of cannibalism in the mosquitofish. Am Nat 129:203–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nentwig W (1986) Non-webbuilding spiders: prey specialists or generalists? Oecologia 69:571–576

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nyffeler M, Benz B (1988) Feeding ecology and predatory importance of wolf spiders (Pardosa spp.) (Araneae, Lycosidae) in winter wheat fields. J Appl Entomol 106:123–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paine RT (1971) The measurement and application of the calorie to ecological problems. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 2:145–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfennig DW (2000) Effect of predator-prey phylogenetic distance on the fitness consequences of predation: a tradeoff between nutrition and disease? Am Nat 155:335–345

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Polis GA, Myers CA, Holt RD (1989) The ecology and evolution of intraguild predation: potential competitors that eat each other. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 20:297–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prete FR, Wolfe MM (1992) Religious supplicant, seductive cannibal, or reflex machine: in search of the praying mantis. J Hist Biol 25:91–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabaneda-Bueno R, Rodriguez-Girones MA, Aguado-de-la-Paz S, Fernandez-Montraveta C, De Mas E, Wise DH, Moya-Larano J (2008) Sexual cannibalism: high incidence in a natural population with benefits to females. PLoS ONE 3:e3484

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ramos-Elorduy J, Moreno JMP, Prado EE, Perez MA, Otero JL, de Guevara OL (1997) Nutritional value of edible insects from the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. J Food Compos Anal 10:142–157

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raubenheimer D, Mayntz D, Simpson SJ, Toft S (2007) Nutrient-specific compensation following diapauses in a predator: implications for intraguild predation. Ecology 88:2598–2608

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rickers S, Langel R, Scheu S (2006) Dietary routing of nutrients from prey to offspring in a generalist predator: effects of prey quality. Funct Ecol 20:124–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rudolf VHW (2007) The interaction of cannibalism and omnivory: consequences for community dynamics. Ecology 88:2697–2705

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rudolf VHW (2008) The impact of cannibalism on predator-prey dynamics: size-structured interactions and apparent mutualism. Ecology 89:1650–1660

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salomon M, Mayntz D, Lubin Y (2008) Colony nutrition skews reproduction in a social spider. Behav Ecol 19:605–611

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schausberger P, Croft BA (2000) Nutritional benefits of intraguild predation and cannibalism among generalist and specialist phytoseiid mites. Ecol Entomol 25:473–480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider JM, Elgar MA (2001) Sexual cannibalism and sperm competition in the golden orb-web spider Nephila plumipes (Araneoidea): female and male perspectives. Behav Ecol 12:547–552

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder WE, Joseph SB, Preziosi RF, Moore AJ (2000) Nutritional benefits of cannibalism for the lady beetle Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) when prey quality is poor. Environ Entomol 29:1173–1179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sokol-Hessner L, Schmitz OJ (2002) Aggregate effects of multiple predator species on a shared prey. Ecology 83:2367–2372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spence JR, Zimmermann M, Wojcicki JP (1996) Effects of food limitation and sexual cannibalism on reproductive output of the nursery web spider Dolomedes triton (Araneae: Pisauridae). Oikos 75:373–382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stalhandske P (2001) Nuptial gift in the spider Pisaura mirabilis maintained by sexual selection. Behav Ecol 12:691–697

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wackers FL, van Rijn PCJ, Bruin J (2005) Plant provided food for carnivorous insects: a protective mutualism and its applications. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • White TCR (1978) The importance of a relative shortage of food in animal ecology. Oecologia 33:71–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilder SM, Rypstra AL (2008a) Sexual size dimorphism predicts sexual cannibalism in spiders. Am Nat 172:431–440

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilder SM, Rypstra AL (2008b) Diet quality affects mating behaviour and egg production in a wolf spider. Anim Behav 76:439–445

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilder SM, Rypstra AL (2008c) Sexual size dimorphism mediates the occurrence of state-dependent sexual cannibalism in a wolf spider. Anim Behav 76:447–454

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilder SM, Rypstra AL (2008d) Prior encounters with the opposite sex affect male and female mating behavior in a wolf spider (Araneae, Lycosidae). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 62:1813–1820

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilder SM, Rypstra AL, Elgar MA (2009a) The roles of ecological and phylogenetic factors for the occurrence and frequency of sexual cannibalism. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 40

  • Wilder SM, Mayntz D, Toft S, Rypstra AL, Pilati A, Vanni MJ (2009b) Intraspecific variation in the quality of prey: a comparison of nutrient presence in prey and nutrient extraction by spiders. Oikos (in press)

  • Williams GC (1966) Natural selection, the costs of reproduction, and a refinement of Lack’s principle. Am Nat 100:687–690

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wise DH (1993) Spiders in ecological webs. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wise DH (2006) Cannibalism, food limitation, intraspecific competition, and the regulation of spider populations. Annu Rev Entomol 51:441–465

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yasuda H, Ohnuma N (1999) Effects of cannibalism and predation on the larval performance of two ladybird beetles. Entomol Exp Appl 93:63–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank J. Moya-Larano and D. H. Wise for comments on a previous draft of this manuscript. We also thank members of the Miami University Spider Lab for collecting and maintaining spiders used in these experiments. Funding was provided by the Department of Zoology at Miami University and by National Science Foundation grant DBI-0216947 to A. L. R.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Shawn M. Wilder

    Present address: Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Center for Animal Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA

    Shawn M. Wilder

  2. Department of Zoology, Center for Animal Behavior, Miami University, Hamilton, OH, USA

    Ann L. Rypstra

Authors
  1. Shawn M. Wilder
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ann L. Rypstra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shawn M. Wilder.

Additional information

Communicated by Thomas Hoffmeister.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wilder, S.M., Rypstra, A.L. Males make poor meals: a comparison of nutrient extraction during sexual cannibalism and predation. Oecologia 162, 617–625 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1518-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1518-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation