Interpopulational variation in mating system and reproductive success of Manogea porracea (Araneae, Araneidae), a spider with amphisexual care

• Grant number: 17/14196-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2018
• Effective date (End): February 18, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Animal Behavior
• Principal Investigator: João Vasconcellos Neto
• Grantee: Rafael Rios Moura
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The first case of extended male care in solitary spiders was described to the spider Manogea porracea at the Fazenda Nova Monte Carmelo, Estrela do Sul, MG. Males can remove humidity from egg sacs after raining, repair webs when they are damaged by wind, rain or other stochastic factors, avoiding egg sacs to fall on the ground and to be attacked by predators, and protect offspring against araneophagic spiders. This Neotropical spider species occurs from Panama to Brazil. Although there is little evidence of inter-population variation in parental behaviors of animals, it is possible that species with a wide range geographical distribution, like M. porracea, could be subject to different conditions affecting male care (e.g., predation risk and mate availability). Preliminary observations suggest that some important parental traits vary between the population of Estrela do Sul and another population, located in Reserva Natural Vale, Linhares, ES. In the population of Linhares, males were also observed caring for offspring. They apparently offer food to females and spiderlings, although these behaviors were not observed in the population of Estrela do Sul. Males may become more selective and stay for longer on the web of a single partner, due to these additional investments. Consequently, mating system must be more strongly monogamous, and males may have greater reproductive success compared to males of the population of Estrela do Sul. In this project, we will describe male care in the M. porracea population of Linhares and its effects on offspring survival. We will also draw microsatellite markers to this spider aiming to compare mating system and the paternity percentage of males caring for offspring in both populations. Therefore, we intend to describe the inter-population variation in the recently discovered paternal behaviors of M. porracea and to evaluate its implications to mating system and male reproductive success of both population. To do these measures, we will apply genetic analysis to field observations and experimentations. These works, therefore, bring important innovations to studies about sexual selection and parental care in spiders and to my training as ecologist.

Scientific publications

(15)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MOURA, RAFAEL RIOS; OLIVEIRA, ISABELLA DIAS; VASCONCELLOS-NETO, JOAO; GONZAGA, MARCELO OLIVEIRA. ``Where ignorance is bliss, `tis folly to be wise{''}: Indiscriminate male care in a neotropical spider. Ethology, v. 127, n. 3, NOV 2020. (17/14196-5)

CHAVES GARCIA, FREDERICO ALEKHINE; MOURA, RAFAEL RIOS; OGAWA, CYNTHIA YURI; SGOBARO ZANETTE, LORENZO ROBERTO; FEITOSA SILVA, JOSE ROBERTO; REZENDE, CARLA FERREIRA. Never forget where you came from: Microhabitat of origin influences boldness and exploration in the hermit crab Clibanarius symmetricus (Diogenidae). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, v. 527, JUN 2020. (17/14196-5)

MOURA, RAFAEL R.; PITILIN, RENAN B.; BUSCHINI, MARIA L. T.. Specialisation in prey capture drives coexistence among sympatric spider-hunting wasps. ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, v. 44, n. 5, p. 639-647, OCT 2019. (17/14196-5, 14/50940-2)

MEIRA, FELIPE ANDRE; MOURA, RAFAEL RIOS; GONZAGA, MARCELO OLIVEIRA. Araneophagy as an alternative foraging tactic to kleptoparasitism in two Argyrodinae (Araneae: Theridiidae) species. Behavioural Processes, v. 189, AUG 2021. (17/14196-5)

PITILIN, RENAN B.; MOURA, RAFAEL R.; GONZAGA, MARCELO O.. Population and individual trophic niche of two sympatric cobweb spiders, Nihonhimea tesselata and Tidarren haemorrhoidale (Araneae: Theridiidae). JOURNAL OF ARACHNOLOGY, v. 48, n. 1, p. 59-66, JUN 2020. (17/14196-5)

XAVIER, GABRIEL MAXIMO; QUERO, ADILSON; MOURA, RAFAEL RIOS; VIEIRA, CAMILA; MEIRA, FELIPE ANDRE; GONZAGA, MARCELO OLIVEIRA. Influence of web traits, height, and daily periods of exposition on prey captured by orb-weaver spiders. Behavioural Processes, v. 193, DEC 2021. (17/14196-5)

MOURA, RAFAEL RIOS; CARVALHO, RAQUEL LUIZA. A novel trophobiotic interaction between a Neotropical stink bug and an ant species: Insights into potential benefits to the host plant. Behavioural Processes, v. 182, JAN 2021. (17/14196-5)

RIOS MOURA, RAFAEL; OLIVEIRA GONZAGA, MARCELO; SILVA PINTO, NELSON; VASCONCELLOS-NETO, JOAO; REQUENA, GUSTAVO S.. Assortative mating in space and time: patterns and biases. ECOLOGY LETTERS, v. 24, n. 5, FEB 2021. (17/14196-5)

MOURA, RAFAEL R.; GONZAGA, MARCELO O.. Spatial variation in sex ratio and density explains subtle changes in the strength of size-assortative mating in Edessa contermina (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). ACTA OECOLOGICA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, v. 95, p. 86-92, FEB 2019. (17/14196-5)

SEGOVIA, JULIO M. G.; MOURA, RAFAEL RIOS; WILLEMART, RODRIGO H.. Starvation decreases behavioral consistency in a Neotropical harvestman. ACTA ETHOLOGICA, v. 22, n. 3, p. 203-208, OCT 2019. (17/14196-5, 14/19191-3)

MOURA, RAFAEL RIOS; VASCONCELLOS-NETO, JOAO; GONZAGA, MARCELO OLIVEIRA. Female sexual maturity as a determining factor of size-assortative pairing in the protandrous spider Manogea porracea (Araneae, Araneidae). ZOOLOGISCHER ANZEIGER, v. 284, p. 1-6, JAN 2020. (17/14196-5)

MOURA, RAFAEL RIOS; OLIVEIRA, ISABELLA DIAS; VASCONCELLOS-NETO, JOAO; GONZAGA, MARCELO OLIVEIRA. "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise": Indiscriminate male care in a neotropical spider. Ethology, v. 127, n. 3, p. 8-pg., 2020-11-20. (17/14196-5)

XAVIER, GABRIEL MAXIMO; MOURA, RAFAEL RIOS; GONZAGA, MARCELO DE OLIVEIRA. Towards simplicity and accuracy: Assessing traditional and new estimators of orb-web capture thread length. Behavioural Processes, v. 173, APR 2020. (17/14196-5)

ALVES DE DEUS, JEAN PABLO; ARAUJO, GUI; TUNES BUSCHINI, MARIA LUISA; MOURA, RAFAEL RIOS. Habitat types in the Atlantic Forest differently influence community structure and species interaction of cavity-nesting Hymenoptera and their natural enemies. JOURNAL OF INSECT CONSERVATION, v. 27, n. 1, p. 12-pg., 2022-11-07. (17/14196-5)

SOBCZAK, JOBER FERNANDO; XAVIER, GABRIEL MAXIMO; GONZAGA, MARCELO OLIVEIRA; PENTEADO-DIAS, ANGELICA MARIA. Host size selection and progeny sex determination in Hymenoepimecis bicolor (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae). Ethology, v. 129, n. 6, p. 8-pg., 2023-03-02. (17/14196-5, 14/50940-2)