Male Mate Choice in Menemerus bivittatus Jumping Spiders

Male Mate Choice in Menemerus bivittatus Jumping SpidersBabbie SuarezRatna Lama

Background: Mate ChoiceWhy choose a mate?Higher reproductive successViable offspringFemale mate choiceChoosyParental care/costGood gene hypothesisQuality traitsExample: Peacock tail

Background: Male Mate ChoiceNot known for choosinessPass genesLess parental careSize preferenceLarger femalesExample: Poecilia reticulateTrinidadian GuppiesNon-virgin female preferenceExample: Littorina subrotundata Northern Pacific GastropodsVirgin female preference

Background: General Jumping Spider InformationMenemerus bivittatusGrey wall jumping spiderGood eyesightHuntingMatingElaborate courting behaviorVisual cuesVibrational cues

Objective:Male mate choice in grey wall jumping spider age and/or size of female

Hypotheses:SizeTest if male Menemerus bivittaus spiders will choose larger females over smaller females of the same ageAgeTest if the male Menemerus bivittaus spiders will choose younger females over older females of the same size

Prediction:SizeMales Larger FemaleAgeMales Younger Female

Supplies:

Methodology:Catch SpidersJarStore

Methodology: Labeling

Methodology:SeparatePairRecord

Methodology: Set-up

Methodology:

Methodology: Mate Choice

Methodology: Clean-up

Results: Female A(S) vs. Female A(B)

Results: Female J(B) vs. Female A(B)MaleCommentsResponseJ(S)Chose A(B)+J(B)Aggressive-J(B)Chose A(B)+A(S)Chose A(B)+A(B)Chose A(B)+A(B)Chose A(B)+

Results: Female J(B) vs. Female A(B)

Results: Female J(B) vs. Female J(S)

Results: Negative (No Choice) Response

Note:Aggressive Behavior not video recorded

Results: Positive Response

Note: Recorded which female was chosen

Discussion:Did not support either hypothesisSize based hypothesis not significant enoughSmall sample sizeAge Based HypothesisSexually Mature vs. Sexually ImmatureMore studies for age maturityYounger Sexually Mature vs. Older Sexually MatureMore studies for sizeBigger sample size neededSignificanceInsight on male mate choiceConservation efforts

Summary:Spider mating habitsMale mate choiceDid not support hypothesesMales More Matured FemalesInsightful for male mate choice

Special Thanks:Dr. NeudorfSuppliesGuidanceDr. BucheliEntomology LabVideo Recorder/ CameraAdvice

References:Dakin,R., & Montgomerie,R. (2013). Eye For An Eyespot: How Iridescent Plumage Ocelli Influence Peacock Mating Success. Behavioral Ecology, 1048-1057. Edwards,G.B., & Jackson,R.R. (1994). The role of experience in the development of predatory behaviour in Phidippus regius, a jumping spider (Araneae, Salticidae) from Florida. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 21(3), 269-277. doi:10.1080/03014223.1994.9517994Elias,D.O., Sivalinghem,S., Mason,A.C., Andrade,M.C., & Kasumovic,M.M. (2010). Vibratory Communication in the Jumping Spider Phidippus clarus: Substrate-borne Courtship Signals are Important for Male Mating Success: Vibratory Communication in a Jumping Spider. Ethology, 116, 990-998. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2010.01815.xFenk,L.M., & Schmid,A. (2011). Flicker-induced eye movements and the behavioural temporal cut-off frequency in a nocturnal spider. The journal of Experimental Biology, 214, 3658-3663. Herdman,E.J., Kelly,C.D., & Godin,J.J. (2004). Male Mate Choice in the Guppy (Poecilia reticulata): Do Males Prefer Larger Females as Mates?. Ethology, 110(2), 97-111. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2003.00960.xHoefler,C.D. (2007). Male mate choice and size-assortative pairing in a jumping spider, Phidippus clarus. Animal Behaviour, 73, 943-954. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.10.017Ilmonen,P., Stundner,G., ThoSZ,M., & Penn,D.J. (2009). Females prefer the scent of outbred males: good-genes-as-heterozygosity?. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 9, 1-10. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-9-104Keddar,I., Jouventin,P., & Dobson,F.S. (2015). Color Ornaments And Territory Position In King Penguins. Behavioural Processes, 119, 32-37. Long,S.M., Leonard,A., Carey,A., & Jakob,E.M. (2015). Short Communication. The Journal of Arachnology, 43, 111-114. Reinhold,K. (2004). Modeling a version of the good-genes hypothesis: female choice of locally adapted males. Organisms Diversity & Evolution, 4, 157-163. doi:10.1016/j.ode.2003.10.002Zahradnik,T.D., Lemay,M.A., & Boulding,E.G. (2008). Choosy males in a littorinid gastropod: male Littorina subrotundata prefer large and virgin females. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 74(3), 245. doi:10.1093/mollus/eyn014

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