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Temporal variation in size-assortative mating and male mate choice in a spider with amphisexual care

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Abstract

Males should be more selective when they have a high investment in reproduction, especially in species with biparental or paternal care. In this context, male mate choice can promote size-assortative mating (SAM) when (1) large males win intrasexual disputes, (2) large females are more fecund, and (3) males prefer larger females to smaller ones. In the spider Manogea porracea, males exhibit high reproductive investment by building their webs above those of females and exhibiting extended care of offspring in the absence of females. Under these circumstances, we expect the occurrence of SAM and male preference for large females. Herein, we performed observations and experiments in the field to evaluate the hypotheses that (1) M. porracea mates assortatively by size and (2) SAM is influenced by male mate choice. Furthermore, we measured variables that could affect mating patterns, the sex ratios, and densities of both sexes. Pairing in M. porracea was positively size-assortative in 2012, but not in 2013. Large males won most disputes for mates and preferred larger females, which produced more eggs. The inconsistency in detection of SAM was due to population dynamics, namely variations in sex ratio and population density across the breeding season. Furthermore, we found that the significance of male mate choice on sexual selection of body size in M. porracea strongly depends on the competition intensity for mating opportunities. The traditional sexual selection hypothesis of SAM needs to be reviewed and must include measures of competition intensity.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Duratex S.A. for allowing our work in Fazenda Nova Monte Carmelo, Giancarlo Ângelo Ferreira, and Yuri Lima Vasconcelos Ferreira for providing transport to the study area in several occasions and Paulo Enrique C. Peixoto for suggestions on an initial draft of this manuscript. We also thank Sven Thatje, Simona Kralj-Fišer, and another anonymous reviewer for their contribution to improvement of the text. This project was supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (research grant to R.R.M.), Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia dos Hymenoptera Parasitoides da Região Sudeste (HYMPAR/Sudeste - CNPq/CAPES/Fapesp), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa de Minas Gerais (Proc. APQ-02104-14, CRA-30058/12, APQ-03202-13; APQ-02474-15), and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (Proc. 306157/2014-4; 403733/2012-0; 445832/2014-2). Voucher specimens of Manogea porracea were deposited in the collection of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (curator A. J. Santos), Minas Gerais, Brazil.

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  1. Pos-graduacao em Ecologia e Conservaçao de Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal de Uberlandia, Campus Umuarama, Bloco 2D, Uberlandia, MG, CEP 38400-902, Brazil

    Rafael R. Moura

  2. Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlandia, Campus Umuarama, Bloco 2D, Uberlandia, MG, CEP 38400-902, Brazil

    Marcelo O. Gonzaga

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  1. Rafael R. Moura
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Correspondence to Rafael R. Moura.

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Communicated by: Stano Pekar

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Moura, R.R., Gonzaga, M.O. Temporal variation in size-assortative mating and male mate choice in a spider with amphisexual care. Sci Nat 104, 28 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-017-1448-6

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