Dear Abby

by Abigail Van Mugarura

SILKEN SEDUCTION

Dear Abby,

I am a young widow spider, nervous about entering the mating scene. I come to you for some advice. I have heard tales of animals hurting each other over mating opportunities, it all seems very barbaric. I wish there was a way where I could outcompete my talented peers without having to fight.

Here to Crawl not Brawl

Sweet spider, I have just the thing for you! Sex pheromones ! Before you roll your eyes at this archaic mode of transmission¹, this chemical communication has purposes beyond attracting mates and contributing to reproductive success, if you know what I mean. For example, in Lasioglossum malachurum, the queen bees use pheromones to suppress worker ovarian development¹. Other  species have the ability to sense and respond to their species-specific sex pheromone¹. Females of your species, Steatoda grossa, not only detect the pheromones of other females, but they use it as a cue to adjust their behavior and indirectly compete for mates¹. You do not have to lift a pretty little leg to fight. Instead, you can compete from the comfort of your own web by using the scent of other females to gauge competition¹. Put your olfactory receptors to work and use those pheromones as a signal for you to deposit greater amounts of your own sweet scent onto your web¹. Pair this with an accelerated breakdown of the mate-attractant components found in your pheromones and you will lure in all the eligible suitors¹. You can accomplish this breakdown using the web-borne carboxyl ester hydrolase enzyme that is present in your silk¹. So get to weaving and spin yourself a web that keeps all the males stuck on you!

COP. BLOCKED

Dear Abby,

I am an antelope in disarray. I am aware it is normal for females to fight for the most eligible bucks, but this is something I would never expect. My ‘friend’ interrupted my first copulation attempt right before my mate climaxed! She insists I am overreacting and should move on before the day ends. Why would she do this?

Stumped in the Savannah

Oh deer, I sympathize with you, but unfortunately this type of female competition is quite normal in Damaliscus lunatus. Female antelopes are known to aggressively compete for access to males, specifically males in central lek territories². Compared to other areas, lek centers have the highest rate of female fighting and interrupted mating attempts². Competition is observed through mating disruptions where females interrupt ejaculation with the intent of preventing sperm depletion². During peak mating activity, males experience sexual exhaustion². By strategically disrupting copulation your ‘friend’ can prance away with your mate, keeping his sperm all to herself. So much for does before bros!

Lek males do not provide paternal care or material benefits² leaving sperm as their remaining redeeming quality. Sperm limitation is known to elicit female competition and male sperm reserves are often depleted through female multiple mating². Topi females have a one day oestrus cycle³––a period when they are sexually receptive⁴. Females typically mate with an average of four males during their cycle further limiting the availability of suitable mates³. This short period of receptivity contributes to an enhanced competition where females actively disrupt mating to advance their personal reproductive success³. Gray langurs––Semnopithecus entellus––similarly exhibit increased female mating interference in response to limited male presence³. Not to excuse your friend’s behavior, but it is likely that she was feeling the pressure of limited selection. I suggest taking her advice of finding yourself a suitable alternative before your oestrus ends. Consider disrupting a mating pair before sperm supply becomes scarce!

MUST WE GET PHY-SI-CAL, PHYSICAL?

Dear Abby,

I am part of the Pavo cristatus species. Is it possible to compete with one’s looks? My mother often brags about my ‘bright neck plumage’. That with my looks, I will have my pick of the flock. I know my neck plumage does not seem nearly as impressive as the elaborate trains of my male counterparts, but maybe my plumage could intimidate other females! Can I pique a peacock’s interest without ruffling any feathers?

Olivia Peahen-John

There are species where females manage competitive interactions using dominance hierarchies⁵. Chacma baboons––Papio hamadryas ursinus––assert dominance for male protection³. Females rely on male friendship for paternal investment³. They are more likely to mate with males that provide offspring protection as infanticide from unrelated males is a threat to offspring survival³. This prompts female competition where dominant females are able to maintain closeness with preferred males³. Now, for peahens, though female competition is prevalent, competition does not need to be physically manifested. While your train may not be as ornate as your male counterparts, as an Indian peahen, you possess your own elaborate ornamentation. Plumage is indicative of competitive ability allowing you to avoid any potential escalations to aggression⁵. Your ability to produce and maintain the feather nanoparticles needed for plumage coloration is dependent on your condition⁶. Dominant females possess significantly brighter neck ornamentation than subordinate females⁶ therefore your iridescent green neck plumage can be used to assert a dominant status over females with darker ornamentation⁶. This way you avoid not only risk of injury, but loss of time and energy––all things that incur from physical confrontations⁶. So take pride in your bright neck plumage as it is indicative of your excellent condition.  As an added bonus, male birds not only assess female ornamentation, but they prefer to mate with ornamented females⁷ so you already have a wing up in this mate competition. So, my amiable avian, you can use ornamentation to evaluate the status of other females from afar to determine when you may be punching above your feather class.

VIRGIN WINGS: A FLY’S FIRST FLIGHT

Dear Abby,

I am part of Ceratitis capitata––mediterranean fruit flies––and I am coming to the age where it is time to settle down and find a suitable mate. I come to you with great concern. My older sister just had sex for the first time and has seemed to lose all her vigor. Mating has seemingly dampened her fiery side and I am scared of what to expect at my first time. Should I be scared?  

Forty (Minute) Old Virgin

As a receptive, virgin female, it is normal to exhibit aggressive behavior⁸, specifically towards other females. In case you have not noticed, the majority of your aggressive behavior is rooted in mate competition⁸. This is commonly observed in Drosophila melanogaster––common fruit fly––where aggression towards single females is no longer displayed following first copulation⁹. Your sister’s vigor was likely an urge to outcompete other females for viable mates. After mating, C. capitata typically exhibits a dramatic decrease in aggressive behavior towards other females⁸. Virgin females actively fight each other, presumably in an attempt to acquire mates, but after achieving successful copulation there is no longer a need to display aggression⁸. Therefore, decreased aggression is indicative of decreased receptivity, not spirit! As a mated female, your sister will likely maintain intersexual aggression towards mating pairs⁸. C. capitata females can discriminate mating pairs from single females and channel their aggression into separating mating pairs⁸. Research is needed to explain this behavior in C. capitata, but we can look at Drosophila. D.melanogaster females also maintain aggression towards mating pairs based on mating status and perception of mating opportunities⁹. This aggression is displayed during the first half of copulation attempts––when ejaculation is expected to occur––suggesting that aggression is intended for the dismounting of copulating males⁹. It is possible that your sister simply redirected her vigor!

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Research on female behavior is very limited––curse our sexist predecessors! Reproductive competition by males and mate selection by females were used as a foundation for stereotypical views of sex differences¹⁰. Evidently, competition is observed in both males and females,¹⁰ with female competition occurring in populations with more reproductively available females than males¹¹. There are many aspects of female mate competition that still need to be explored. Maybe if females compete against males for a scientist’s attention, we will finally gain more insight!

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