New preprint: Differential oxidative costs of locomotory and genital damage in an orb-weaving spider

Summary statement:
Oxidative stress status of female orb-weaving spiders suggests that damage to the locomotory system is physiologically costly, whereas genital mutilation by males is not.

Abstract:
In animals that regularly experience tissue loss, physiological responses may have evolved to overcome  the  related  costs.  Changes  in  oxidative  status  may  reflect  such  self-maintenance mechanisms.  Here,  we  investigated  how  markers  of  oxidative  status  varied  in  female  orb-weaving  spiders  (Larinia  jeskovi) by  mimicking two  distinct  types  of  tissue  loss  they  may naturally encounter: damage to their locomotory  system and damage to their external genital structure,  as  inflicted   by  males  to  females  during  copulation  (external  female   genital mutilation).
Damage  to  the  locomotory  system  resulted in  a significant  shift  in  the  oxidative status reflecting investment into self-maintenance. In contrast, the loss of the genital structure did  not  result  in quantitative  changes  of  oxidative  markers.  The  lack  of  response  to  genital mutilation suggests that genital mutilation is physiologically not costly for female spiders. The cost  incurred to  females rather arises from  genital  mutilation  preventing  the  females  from remating with another male.

Download the PDF here!