Dolomedes spiders are central to studies investigating evolutionary phenomena like extreme mating behaviours and the diversification of mating systems. Within this genus, there is considerable variation in mating strategies between species. At one extreme, D. tenebrosus males are strictly monogynous, while at the other, D. scriptus and D. triton males mate with multiple females. To deepen our understanding of mating system evolution, more data on closely related species are essential. To that end, we studied mating system and sexual cannibalism in D. plantarius spider. We hypothesized that the mating system is polygamous, males mate more frequently than females, larger individuals have greater reproductive success, and mated females are more likely to cannibalize males, especially when the size ratio between them is smaller. We documented the interactions of females and males repeatingly exposing them to new mating partners. Our findings show that both sexes can engage in multiple matings, with males mating with an average of 3.8 females and females with 1.9 males. Additionally, our data confirm that mated females are more likely to be aggressive towards males during courtship. Female aggression towards males and the likelihood of sexual cannibalism after mating increases when the partners are of different size. However, we found no significant relationship between body size and reproductive output of either sex. This study contributes new insights to the ongoing comparative analysis of mating strategies in Dolomedes spiders, highlighting that male mating rates generally surpass those of females, a pattern commonly observed in other sexually reproducing species.
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