WHAT ABOUT SPIDER ?

Scientists have learned that female spider eat their partners after sex

Among spiders, females are more dangerous than males, being famous for having consumed their sexual partners immediately after the act. Until now, however, scientists did not understand why this event occurs. Some biologists suspect that this is because the female is hungry, and the male is a hearty meal at its disposal and can not run. Other biologists consider that male sacrifice their lives for the good of its genes. According to this hypothesis, leaving the eating, the male helps to develop progeny somehow from intercourse.

Dr Peng Yu from Hubei University in China, together with his colleagues decided to find the answer to this question. Research conducted by Chinese researchers published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology science.

Peng's team collected about 400 young wolf-spiders of both sexes, from the nearby plains. Then, the researchers increased spiders separately (to avoid cannibalism) until they reached sexual maturity.

Then, one by one, scientists put a male and every female near waited until there was one of three events: the

male was eaten, coupled with the female and the male was successfully avoided being eaten or the male survived half an hour without eating, but not connected with the female at the time. In some cases, scientists virgin males mated with virgin females in other cases males with female virgins who just germinate. The researchers also mated with female and male virgins who had not been fed for two weeks to test the hypothesis starvation.

Subsequently, the researchers chose 16 females that were mated and then ate sex partners and 10 females mated but have not eaten partners, pursuing their reproductive success. Once submitted cocoon females, the researchers randomly selected 10 cocoons from each group and have them monitored until the chicks have hatched. Later, scientists chose 20 chickens in each group spider to study.

The first observation of the researchers was that, although female wolf spiders eat their males sometimes before intercourse, this happens in 10% of cases, more frequently in females not hungry. The second observation was that when a male is considered to be suitable for mating, it is never eaten during intercourse, even if it may take 90 minutes. Last observation was that in 28% of cases, males were eaten after intercourse. Thus, males who managed to find a sexual partner were consumed more often than those who do not could find one.

The most important discovery of researchers, which explains all others connected with the success of spider offspring. Thus, those born of women who had partners consumed 48% chance of surviving the first month of life. In contrast, those born to women who ate their partners were not only 12% chance of surviving the first 30 days.

Huge difference in the survival rate is high enough, in evolutionary terms, to encourage males to sacrifice, because a male should mate 3 times to get the benefits you get by suicidal act. So why is three times more likely to be used if a male mated with a female unless you did this is probably because he wants to be eaten, for the sake of her progeny.

It is not yet clear what the exact benefits that a male brings her progeny of the female digestive system. It is possible that the spider's body to find essential nutrients that are rare in other foods. Whatever the details, the question biologists is now clear: male spider sacrifice their lives for the sake of their children.

foto credit: google.com

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