Female choice for male drumming in the wolf spiderHygrolycosa rubrofasciata

doi:10.1006/anbe.1996.0371

Animal Behaviour

Volume 53, Issue 2, February 1997, Pages 305-312

https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1996.0371 Get rights and content

Abstract

Mate preferences in invertebrates have usually been studied with simultaneous choice experiments alone, which allows effective detection of any preferences but does not tell much about the strength of inter-sexual selection. Under natural conditions females frequently have to rely on sequential choice, and choosy females may incur opportunity and direct costs such as loss of time when they reject a male. Female preference in the wolf spiderHygrolycosa rubrofasciatafor two components of male courtship signalling, rate and volume, was investigated. Both of these characteristics were tested with a sequential choice set-up and the effect of volume also with a simultaneous choice method. Females responded more quickly to male signals with a higher rate and volume. This suggests that females use a threshold level when responding to male courtship signals and that they are prepared to suffer some costs of waiting for an opportunity to choose between males.

References (41)

J.F. Anderson
Metabolic rates of spiders
Comp. Biochem. Physiol
(1970)
S. Bensch et al.
Evidence for active female choice in a polygynous warbler
Anim. Behav
(1992)
C.K. Catchpole
Bird song, sexual selection and female choice
Trends Ecol. Evol
(1987)
J.S. Rovner
Acoustic communication in a lycosid spider (Lycosa rabida
Anim. Behav
(1967)
M.J. Ryan
Sexual selection and communication in frogs
Trends Evol. Ecol
(1991)
A. Schmitt et al.
Vibratory communication in a wandering spider,Cupiennus getazi
Anim. Behav
(1994)
B.K. Sullivan
Sexual selection in Woodhouse's toad (Bufo woodhousei
Anim. Behav
(1983)
B.K. Sullivan et al.
Female choice and selection on male calling behaviour in the grey treefrogHyla versicolor
Anim. Behav
(1992)
S.L. Vehrencamp et al.
The energetic costs of display in male sage grouse
Anim. Behav
(1989)
P.J. Watson et al.
Sexual selection and the energetics of copulatory courtship in the Sierra dome spider,Linyphia litigosa
Anim. Behav
(1994)

M. Andersson

Sexual Selection

(1994)

A. Arak

Female mate selection in the natterjack toad: active choice or passive attraction?

Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol

(1988)

T.C. Bakker et al.

Sequential female choice and the previous mate effect in sticklebacks

Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol

(1991)

F.G. Barth et al.

Species recognition and species isolation in wandering spiders (Cupiennus

Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol

(1991)

J.W. Bradbury

Contrasts between insects and vertebrates in the evolution of male display, female choice, and lek mating

Fortschr. Zool

(1985)

J.E. Carrel

Cuticle, temperature and respiration: heart rate and physiological ecology

Ecophysiology of Spiders

(1987)

S.A. Collins et al.

Female mate choice in the zebra finch: the effect of male beak colour and male song

Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol

(1994)

C. Fernandez-Montraveta et al.

Substrate-borne vibrations produced by maleLycosa tarentula fasciiventris

Ethology

(1994)

D.C. Forester et al.

Sexual selection in the spring peeperHyla crucifer

Behaviour

(1985)

M. Hovi et al.

Mate sampling and assessment procedures in female pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca

Ethology

(1994)

Cited by (77)

Size matters: Antagonistic effects of body size on courtship and digging in a wolf spider with non-traditional sex roles
2022, Behavioural Processes
Citation Excerpt :
Because vibrational signals may be costly to produce and correlate with immune competence (Ahtiainen et al., 2004), male longevity (Mappes et al., 1996) or offspring viability (Hoefler et al., 2009), they are considered to be reliable indicators of male quality and they are strongly associated to female mate preferences (Kotiaho et al., 1996; Rivero et al. 2000; Ahtiainen et al., 2004; Wignall et al. 2014). For instance, females of the wolf spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata choose mates based on the percussive "drumming" display of males (Kronestedt, 1996; Parri et al. 1997). Moreover, a recent study (Eberhard et al., 2020) shows that males of the spider Pisaura mirabilis that produced more and continuous vibrational courtship signals were more likely to be accepted for copulation by females.
Body size, nuptial gift characteristics and courtship behaviour, among other traits, can reflect the quality of a potential mate and, thus, might be under sexual selection. To maximize their mating success, individuals can show behavioural plasticity in sexual context. Allocosa senex is a burrow-digging wolf spider that exhibits reversal in courtship roles and in sexual size-dimorphism expected for spiders. Males construct the mating refuge and females prefer males that build longer burrows, which are considered as nuptial gifts because they are delivered to them after mating. This study aims to determine whether male body size and female reproductive status influence burrow dimensions, courtship displays, female preferences and cannibalism rate in A. senex. For that purpose, we allowed males to construct burrows and performed sexual trials under laboratory conditions. Larger males were more courted by females, and in turn, they expressed more vibratory behaviours during courtship. However, and contrary to our expectations, smaller males constructed longer burrows. We suggest that males of A. senex exhibit size-dependent behavioural plasticity, and when they are smaller, they invest more in burrow construction to compensate their lower opportunities of courting intensively as larger males. In addition, females courted differentially according to their reproductive status, overriding male preferences for virgin females. This study opens several doors to future research regarding mutual choice in A. senex and the traits assessed by males and females during courtship, as well as about the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors shaping reproductive decision-making in this and other wandering spider species.
Function of structured signalling in the black widow spider Latrodectus hesperus
2021, Animal Behaviour
Citation Excerpt :
For example, in the jumping spider Phidippus clarus, males wiht higher signalling rates are more likely to be successful (Elias et al., 2010; Sivalinghem et al., 2010). In the wolf spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata, females show preference for males with higher drumming rates (Kotiaho et al., 1996; Parri et al., 1997), and drumming rates convey honest information about male quality (Ahtiainen et al., 2004; Mappes et al., 1996; Rivero et al., 2000) and are associated with energetic, longevity and predation costs (Ahtiainen et al., 2005; Kotiaho et al., 1998). Where previous studies have focused on fixed composite signals or individual components (e.g. abdominal vibration rates in P. clarus), in this study, we specifically examined the frequency at which males transitioned from temporally unstructured signalling to structured multicomponent signalling in L. hesperus.
Many animals communicate using complex signals composed of multiple components. In some, multiple distinct signal components are organized into stereotyped sequences. Few studies, however, have examined how such temporal structure might arise, or how this structural complexity relates to signal function. Male black widow spiders (Latrodectus hesperus) intermittently transition from a ‘haphazard’ production of three distinct vibratory signal components to a temporally structured multicomponent display during courtship. In this study, we examined the function of structured signalling during courtship in L. hesperus. More specifically, we examined whether structured signalling rates is predicted by male mass and whether structured signalling rates predict male mating success. Then, we experimentally tested the consequences of removing one of the signal components (abdominal tremulation) for male mating success. Larger males had lower signalling rates, suggesting a trade-off between structured signalling and mass. Males that produced structured signals more frequently mated sooner. Impairment of abdominal tremulation did not affect copulation success, but these ‘muted’ males took significantly longer to mate. Our study demonstrates that the temporal arrangement of signal components is important for male mating success in L. hesperus.
Vibratory communication in a black widow spider (Latrodectus hesperus): signal structure and signalling mechanisms
2021, Animal Behaviour
Despite the ubiquity of web-borne vibratory communication among many web-building spiders, few empirical studies, to date, have quantified the characteristics and mechanisms of the signals involved. In this study, we used western black widow spider, Latrodectus hesperus, and examined male signal characteristics, signal production mechanisms and signal transmission efficacy on webs. It is not clear how vibrations are transmitted through the chaotic cobweb typical of this species and relatives, and previous work argued that L. hesperus courtship vibrations lacked structure. We videorecorded courtship and copulation behaviour, and used laser vibrometry to record and characterize web-borne vibrations. We examined signalling mechanisms using synchronous high-speed video and vibrometry recordings. Lastly, we examined signal transmission by measuring transfer functions between body movements and the resulting vibration signal. We found that males displayed three distinct signal types (abdominal tremulation, bounce and web plucks), each of which were generated by a different signal production mechanism. Our results also show that male bounces and web plucks may convey information about male size. Contrary to earlier work, we show that during the later phases of male–female interactions, males intermittently organize individual signal types into stereotyped sequential displays (‘structured signalling’). Moreover, despite the cobweb structure, transfer function analyses showed that female webs transmit male signals with high efficacy. These results suggest that vibratory communication in L. hesperus, previously classified as simple signallers, can comprise emergent forms of signal complexity and lay the foundation for future studies on this mode of communication in other web-dwelling species.
Signal Reliability and Intraspecific Deception
2019, Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, Second Edition: Volume 1-5
A signal is considered to be reliable if (1) some feature of the signal is consistently correlated with an attribute of the signaler or its environment and (2) receivers benefit from knowing about that attribute. Signaling systems that do not provide reliable information may exist if signal features exploit a sensory bias of the receiver. At evolutionary equilibrium, however, signals are expected to be reliable on average, meaning that they are reliable enough that a receiver benefits overall from responding to them rather than ignoring them. When there is a conflict of interest between signaler and receiver, signal reliability requires some mechanism to be maintained. Proposed mechanisms include (1) physical and informational constraints on signal production; (2) signal costs that differentially affect signalers of varying quality (the handicap mechanism); (3) differential benefits, which produce honest signals of need; and (4) receiver-dependent costs, which produce conventional signals whose meaning is not related to their physical structure but rather results from an arbitrary convention. The requirement that signals be reliable only on average allows the possibility of some admixture of intra-specific deception, which has been observed in various types of signals, including signals used in aggression, courtship, predator warning, and begging.
Signal reliability and intraspecific deception
2019, Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior
A signal is considered to be reliable if (1) some feature of the signal is consistently correlated with an attribute of the signaler or its environment and (2) receivers benefit from knowing about that attribute. Signaling systems that do not provide reliable information may exist if signal features exploit a sensory bias of the receiver. At evolutionary equilibrium, however, signals are expected to be reliable on average, meaning that they are reliable enough that a receiver benefits overall from responding to them rather than ignoring them. When there is a conflict of interest between signaler and receiver, signal reliability requires some mechanism to be maintained. Proposed mechanisms include (1) physical and informational constraints on signal production; (2) signal costs that differentially affect signalers of varying quality (the handicap mechanism); (3) differential benefits, which produce honest signals of need; and (4) receiver-dependent costs, which produce conventional signals whose meaning is not related to their physical structure but rather results from an arbitrary convention. The requirement that signals be reliable only on average allows the possibility of some admixture of intra-specific deception, which has been observed in various types of signals, including signals used in aggression, courtship, predator warning, and begging.
Multimodal Communication in Wolf Spiders (Lycosidae)-An Emerging Model for Study
2016, Advances in the Study of Behavior
Citation Excerpt :
Most wolf spiders (Family Lycosidae) use some form of vibration in communication, although some species combine vibratory signals with visual displays and chemical communication (Kronestedt, 1996; Rovner, 1967, 1975; Stratton & Uetz, 1981, 1983, 1986; Uetz & Stratton, 1982). In another well-studied species, the European wolf spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata, females choose males on the basis of signaling (percussive drumming) rates, which are a good predictor of viability (Ahtiainen et al., 2001; Kotiaho, 2000; Parri, Alatalo, Kotiaho, & Mappes, 1997). Studies of the role of vibratory communication in this species have demonstrated the honesty of the signaling effort as it relates to male condition and viability, and the physiological and fitness costs associated with vibratory signaling and courtship (Ahtiainen, Alatalo, Kortet, & Rantala, 2004; Ahtiainen, Alatalo, Kortet, & Rantala, 2005; Kotiaho et al., 1996; Kotiaho, Alatalo, Mappes, & Parri, 2000; Kotiaho, Alatalo, Mappes, Parri, & Rivero, 1998; Mappes, Alatalo, Kotiaho, & Parri, 1996; Parri et al., 1997; Parri, Alatalo, Kotiaho, Mappes, & Rivero, 2002; Rivero, Alatalo, Kotiaho, Mappes, & Parri, 2000).

View all citing articles on Scopus

^☆: W. Nentwig

^f1: Correspondence: S. Parri, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, Konnevesi Research Station, University of University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FIN-40351 Jyväskylä, Finland (email: [email protected])

View full text

Regular ArticleFemale choice for male drumming in the wolf spiderHygrolycosa rubrofasciata☆

Abstract

Comp. Biochem. Physiol

Anim. Behav

Trends Ecol. Evol

Anim. Behav

Trends Evol. Ecol

Anim. Behav

Anim. Behav

Anim. Behav

Anim. Behav

Anim. Behav

Sexual Selection

Female mate selection in the natterjack toad: active choice or passive attraction?

Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol

Sequential female choice and the previous mate effect in sticklebacks

Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol

Species recognition and species isolation in wandering spiders (Cupiennus

Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol

Contrasts between insects and vertebrates in the evolution of male display, female choice, and lek mating

Fortschr. Zool

Cuticle, temperature and respiration: heart rate and physiological ecology

Ecophysiology of Spiders

Female mate choice in the zebra finch: the effect of male beak colour and male song

Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol

Substrate-borne vibrations produced by maleLycosa tarentula fasciiventris

Ethology

Sexual selection in the spring peeperHyla crucifer

Behaviour

Mate sampling and assessment procedures in female pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca

Ethology

Regular Article
Female choice for male drumming in the wolf spiderHygrolycosa rubrofasciata☆