"The Undertaking of a Lifetime Mate : the Case of a Monogynous Cannibalistic Spider" In contrast to the stereotype of male eagerness to mate with multiple females, monogynous males in various species actively limit themselves to mating with a single female in their lifetime. As monogyny eliminates the usual trade-off between investment in the current mating versus investment in future matings, it allows for the evolution of strikingly counter-intuitive male traits. Using a state-dependent dynamic game model based on the biology of the cannibalistic spider Argiope bruennichi, it was confirmed that conditional monogyny can evolve under broad conditions, including an even sex ratio. It was predicted that males should make a terminal investment when mating with large, virgin females, especially if population density is low and the encounter occurs late in the season. Read more: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.372/fullCollapse this post
