In Memoriam: Arthur (Art) Decae and His Contributions to Arachnology

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  Image Credit:  https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Arthur-Decae  In Memoriam: Arthur (Art) Decae and His Contributions to Arachnology The arachnological community has received the sad news of the passing of Arthur (Art) Decae of the Netherlands, a long-standing member of the International Society of Arachnology (ISA) and the European Society of Arachnology (ESA). Arthur was a respected authority on mygalomorph spiders, particularly those of Europe and the Mediterranean region. His research contributed significantly to the taxonomy, diversity, distribution, and natural history of these often poorly known spiders. In announcing his passing on behalf of the ISA, Jason Dunlop extended condolences to Arthur's family, friends, and colleagues. Marco Isaia, who remained in contact with Arthur during his final year, also shared a message that Arthur had specifically asked to be passed on to the arachnological community: “I would appreciate it if you tell our spider friends and ...

The role of male body size in mating success and male–male competition in a false widow spider

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The role of male body size in mating success and male–male competition in a false widow spider

In many animals, body size is correlated with reproductive success. Selection sometimes generates striking differences in body size between males and females (i.e. sexual size dimorphism, SSD). SSD is common in spiders (Araneae) and is typically explained by selection for larger, more fecund females and rapidly maturing, and consequently smaller, males. Within a species males and females also often vary in body size. In the false widow spider, Steatoda grossa, females are larger than males and males trade body size for rapid development and early maturation. Moreover, males vary considerably in body size, suggesting that under certain conditions there may be advantages to large size. Here, we tested the role of male body size on mating success under noncompetitive and competitive mating conditions (i.e. male–male competition) in S. grossa. We found that body size did not influence mating success or copulation duration under noncompetitive conditions, but that larger males were more successful at obtaining access to females under competitive mating conditions. Additionally, we found that total copulation duration was significantly lower when a rival male was present. Our results show a large male advantage under male–male competition, which we suggest may contribute to the high variation in male body size observed in S. grossa. We further suggest that the reduced copulation duration observed under competitive mating conditions may have potential ramifications for male and female reproductive success and we discuss how patterns of selection acting on male body size might limit the extent of SSD in this species.

Yuting Dong, Jeffrey A. Harvey, Robin Steegh, Rieta Gols, Melissah Rowe, The role of male body size in mating success and male–male competition in a false widow spider, Animal Behaviour, Volume 206, 2023, Pages 53-59, ISSN 0003-3472, 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.09.011.