Effects of egg attendance on male mating success in a harvestman with exclusive paternal care

Autor(es)

Requena, Gustavo S. ^{[1, 2]} ; Machado, Glauco ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Ecol, BR-05508900 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Ecol, Programa Posgrad Ecol, BR-05508900 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY; v. 26, n. 3, p. 926-935, MAY-JUN 2015.
• Citações Web of Science: 10

Resumo

The expected quality of paternal behavior can influence female mating decisions and determine male mating success. We evaluated the importance of oviposition site quality, male body size, parental status (presence vs. absence of eggs under males' protection), and time invested in care (less vs. more than 1 month) for male mating success in the harvestman Iporangaia pustulosa. The chances of acquiring a clutch are relatively small for noncaring males but increase nearly 4 times once males start caring for eggs. After 1 month of caring, the chances of acquiring an additional clutch show a marked decline, probably because the cumulative energetic costs imposed by paternal care decreases males' attractiveness or their ability to replenish gametes throughout the caring period. Therefore, male mating success seems to be affected by a combination of presence of eggs and body condition while caring. Because the presence of eggs increases male attractiveness, we also conducted a field experiment removing caring males from their broods and expected that noncaring males would adopt unattended broods as a deceptive strategy to acquire matings. However, noncaring males cannibalized eggs and no brood adoption was recorded. Because well-fed males stay stationary on the vegetation waiting for mating opportunities, unattended broods may have been found more often by vagrant and poorly fed males. We argue that detailed comprehension of the costs and the benefits of paternal activities, as well as the direct benefits of female preference, is fundamental to better understand the interaction between male care and female mate choice. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 08/53737-2 - Evolução do dimorfismo sexual e intrassexual em opiliões da família Gonyleptidae (Arachnida: Opiliones): uma perspectiva ecológica e evolutiva
• Beneficiário: Roberto Edmundo Munguía Steyer
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 08/54833-5 - Fatores que influenciam o sucesso reprodutivo dos machos em opilioes (arachnida) com cuidado paternal
• Beneficiário: Glauco Machado
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 03/05427-0 - Custos e benefícios do cuidado maternal no opilião Serracutisoma proximum (Opiliones: Gonyleptidae)
• Beneficiário: Bruno Alves Buzatto
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Iniciação Científica
• Processo FAPESP: 02/00381-0 - Investimento parental e evolução do comportamento sub-social em opiliões da família Gonyleptidae (Arachnida: Opiliones)
• Beneficiário: Glauco Machado
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Jovens Pesquisadores
• Processo FAPESP: 12/50229-1 - Macro-ecologia da seleção sexual: influencia do clima sobre caracteres sexualmente selecionados em uma ampla escala geográfica
• Beneficiário: Glauco Machado
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 03/05418-1 - Cuidado paternal no opilião Iporangaia pustulosa (Opiliones: Gonyleptidae)
• Beneficiário: Gustavo Requena Santos
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Iniciação Científica