The role of high-contrast male facial stripes in mitigating female aggression in the jumping spider Plexippus paykulli

Vibrant male coloration and energetic courtship displays set jumping spiders apart from most arachnids, which typically rely on nonvisual stimuli. Like many other spiders, female salticids sometimes engage in precopulatory sexual cannibalism, making courtship a risky but necessary endeavour for males. In this study, we investigated the relationship between male coloration and female aggression to better understand the interplay of attraction and aversion during courtship. Many male jumping spiders sport conspicuous coloration or high-contrast patterns resembling those of many aposematic insects. The faces of Plexippus paykulli males are adorned with bold vertical stripes that are directed towards females during courtship. We hypothesized that, if spiders find stripes unappetizing in a foraging context, then male stripes might leverage this aversion to reduce the likelihood of sexual cannibalism. We tested whether spiders exhibit an aversion to stripes in the context of predation by manipulating prey coloration and testing spider preference for striped versus nonstriped prey. Then we conducted two courtship experiments by manipulating male facial coloration to determine whether the presence of male stripes affects female aggression and likelihood of mating. We also manipulated female foraging drive (diet or mating status) in each courtship experiment to see whether common sources of natural variation among females influenced response to courting males. We found that spiders showed an aversion to stripes while foraging but that this aversion did not confer reduced aggression towards striped males. Instead, female condition influenced female response to courting males, with hungrier females showing higher aggression and previously mated females being mounted less frequently than nonmated females. However, stripes did affect the likelihood of male reproductive success, as in one experiment, striped males mounted females more frequently than did nonstriped males and matings with striped males were more likely to lead to fertile eggs. Thus, stripes may confer advantages to males other than reduced female aggression. (c) 2023 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Vibrant male coloration and energetic courtship displays set jumping spiders apart from most arachnids. This study investigated the relationship between male coloration and female aggression during courtship. It was found that female condition influenced the response to courting males, and striped males had a higher likelihood of mating success.