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Redback Spider Case Study

Decent Essays

This paper will examine the rare behavior of the redback spider in regards to mating. The evolution of the mating behavior is quite unusual compared to other species. Native to Australia, the Redback spider also referred to as Latrodectus hasselti is well known for the unusual type of mating behavior it engages in known as sexual cannibalism. Sexual cannibalism is very rare and most males who fall prey to their female counterpart will try to flee, however the redback’s self-sacrificing behavior is an adaptive form of mating that has evoked many debates for scientists. The male redback places himself on the female’s abdomen while inserting sperm transfers into her reproductive tract. After the sperm is transferred into sperm receptacles he …show more content…

For females, it is easier to understand how sexual cannibalism would be an adaptive strategy. They not only gain more nutritional benefit, but fecundity increases as well (Elgar, 1988). For males, the paternal advantages for being cannibalized and therefore adaptive and favor natural selection are longer copulation periods and having more eggs fertilized. Females were also more likely to reject future mates after cannibalizing the subsequent mate. If the male’s self-sacrificing behavior increases the quantity or quality of his offspring in a significant way, the behavior may be adaptive rather than a conflicting factor between both male and female (Thornhill, 1976). Facilitation in terms related to sexual cannibalism could evolve as adaptive male strategy pending the benefits of being cannibalized in a given mating session exceed the future expected reproductive value of the male. The cost of postcopulatory death for male redbacks is very low. In most cases males usually succumb to other predators such as ants or other spiders before they may be able to find the web of another adult female (Alcock, 2013). The costs of cannibalism for males is extremely low due to the fact that during copulation their organs break off inside the female, resulting in mortality (Andrade, 1996). These facts show that little …show more content…

Another interesting finding involves a study funded by Natural Sciences in Canada. When males redbacks smell female’s pheromones, they seem to develop more rapidly and may trade body size and fat reserves for making it to virgin females much faster (Andrade, 1996). According to Andrade, many times there may be up to eight males at a time on a female’s web. Body density for males is critical is that it is suspected males need more fat to help with the long rituals of courtship that are preferred by females. It was thought that males were smaller due to lack of resources, yet research seems to show more evidence that they intentionally develop that way. These physical characteristics may have bearing on whether or not a male is cannibalized by the female after mating has occurred (Science, 2006). Based on evolution and natural selection it is more likely that the females did originally gain enough nutrition to increase their fitness. However the males were then subjected to greater selective pressure being that any traits that would cause self-sacrifice were favored and everything else was discarded. Genetically speaking, it seems a waste of time to expend energy engaging in combat with other males and accumulating biomass when all that

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