Occurrence and duration of post-copulatory mate guarding in a spider with last sperm precedence

Abstract

One male strategy to prevent female re-mating is post-copulatory mate guarding. In the pholcid spider Holocnemus pluchei last male’s fertilization success is around 74% and females remain receptive after copulation. It is, thus, reasonable to suppose that males should engage in post-copulatory mate guarding. Chronologically, the present study focused on the following aspects: (1) to determine if male permanence near females corresponds to mate guarding. For this, a second male (intruder) was introduced. Time of permanence, distance and behaviour of residents did not change whether or not an intruder was present; (2) to investigate the duration of mate guarding and male distance to the female in a time series intervals after copulation. Males remained close to females during 14 h keeping a distance of less than 15 cm; (3) to evaluate whether guarding duration is influenced by female sexual receptivity. We found that 24 h after the first copulation, when the resident was placed again next to the female, he tried to re-mate; and (4) to examine differences in paternity in relation to whether or not the resident exerted guarding. P2 was higher when second males copulated again within the first 6 h compared to 24 h after the first copulation.