Department of Biology II, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Munich, Germany.
Institute of Zoology, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King Platz 3, Hamburg 20146 Germany.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2020 Dec 7;375(1813):20200073. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0073. Epub 2020 Oct 19.
Aggressive and cannibalistic female spiders can impose strong selection on male mating and fertilization strategies. Furthermore, the distinctive reproductive morphology of spiders is predicted to influence the outcome of sperm competition. Polyandry is common in spiders, leading to defensive male strategies that include guarding, plugging and self-sacrifice. Paternity patterns are highly variable and unlikely to be determined solely by mating order, but rather by relative copulation duration, deployment of plugs and cryptic female choice. The ability to strategically allocate sperm is limited, either by the need to refill pedipalps periodically or owing to permanent sperm depletion after mating. Further insights now rely on unravelling several proximate mechanisms such as the process of sperm activation and the role of seminal fluids. This article is part of the theme issue 'Fifty years of sperm competition'.
具有攻击性和同类相食习性的雌蛛会对雄蛛的交配和授精策略产生强烈的选择作用。此外，蜘蛛独特的繁殖形态结构预计会影响精子竞争的结果。蜘蛛中一妻多夫现象很常见，导致了雄性的防御策略，包括守护、堵塞和自我牺牲。亲权模式变化多样，不太可能仅由交配顺序决定，而是取决于相对交配持续时间、堵塞的部署和隐蔽的雌性选择。分配精子的能力是有限的，要么是因为需要定期补充触肢，要么是因为交配后永久性精子枯竭。进一步的研究依赖于揭示几个近似机制，如精子激活过程和精液的作用。本文是主题为“精子竞争 50 年”的特刊的一部分。
