Males discriminate between substrate-borne cues of conspecific females based on age and mating status in the jumping spider, Habronattus brunneus
Data files
Aug 05, 2024 version files 6 KB
Abstract
Sexual selection is often studied with a focus on female mate choice, wherein females evaluate male signals to select an optimal mate. However, in some systems, males should also make careful decisions about the females they choose to court, particularly when faced with the risk of precopulatory sexual cannibalism. Here, we explore the idea that male jumping spiders (Habronattus brunneus) may mitigate this risk by responding to female cues likely associated with female aggression and/or receptivity. We tested mature male spiders’ ability to discriminate between substrate-borne cues (i.e., silk and excreta) produced by conspecific females of different ages and mating statuses. We found that males spent more time exploring cues produced by mature females compared with immature females and more time exploring cues produced by non-mated females compared with mated females. Heightened interest in cues produced by females that are sexually mature but not yet mated may allow males to reduce cannibalism risk, reduce wasted courtship effort, and increase their reproductive success. The use of chemical and/or tactile cues in courtship behavior has been vastly understudied compared with the ways they use vision; this study provides groundwork for understanding how these sensory modalities interact.
README: Males discriminate between conspecific female cues based on age and mating status in the jumping spider, Habronattus brunneus
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.pc866t1xc
This dataset is divided into three datasheets: one for each experiment conducted. The first experiment involved testing male response to control stimuli vs. a female treatment to demonstrate males could discriminate between filter paper treated with female cues and an untreated paper control. In the second experiment, we tested the male ability to discriminate between female cues based on female age, and in the third experiment, we tested the male ability to discriminate between female cues based on female mating status (mated vs non-mated). We found that males showed heightened attention to the expected female cues in all three experiments.
Description of the data and file structure
This dataset is divided into three datasheets (one for each experiment conducted).
It should be noted that the video analyses for both experiments were conducted blind, as trial identifiers contained no information to reveal the treatment of each side, and treatments were randomly assigned to each side when preparing each trial. When data were input during video analysis, each observation was recorded as 'right' or 'left' rather than 'female' or 'control'. Only after all videos were analyzed did we sync the individual observations to the database metadata and generate totals for each treatment by trial.
Finally, each datasheet has been organized in a format conducive to running a paired T-test.
Sheet descriptions:
'exp1_control_vs_female'
This sheet includes the trial ID ('trial_id'), filter paper treatment ('treatment', where 'female' indicates filter paper was exposed to a mature, non-mated female and 'control' indicates untreated filter paper), and the time (in minutes) a male spider spent on each filter paper treatment ('total_time_min') in the associated trial.
'exp2_juv_vs_adult'
This sheet includes the trial ID ('trial_id'), filter paper treatment ('treatment', where 'adult' indicates filter paper was exposed to a mature, non-mated female and 'juvenile' indicates filter paper was exposed to a female that had not reached maturity), and the time (in minutes) a male spider spent on each filter paper treatment ('duration') in the associated trial.
'exp3_mated_vs_nonmated'
This sheet includes the trial ID ('trial_id'), filter paper treatment ('treatment', where 'mated' indicates filter paper was exposed to a mature female that had previously copulated with a conspecific male but had not yet deposited eggs, and 'virgin' indicates filter paper was exposed to a mature female that had not mated previously), and the time (in minutes) a male spider spent on each filter paper treatment ('duration') in the associated trial. Note the term 'virgin' was replaced with 'non-mated' in the creation of figures for these data.