In the case of the redback spider, would males be better off, in terms of fitness, looking for another female to mate with instead of provoking his mate to eat him?
A) Yes, this would increase his fitness, as it would provoke the first female to allow him to mate more, and he would get a second mating opportunity with another female.
B) No, this would decrease his fitness, as his first mate would expel his sperm once he left the area.
C) Yes, this would greatly increase his fitness, as he would be able to produce more offspring and with a variety of mates increasing the chance that some of his offspring would survive.
D) No, this would decrease his fitness as he would likely not find a second mate and would decrease his sperm transfer to the female he has found.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In the specific mating strategy of the redback spider, the male's self-sacrifice by allowing the female to consume him after or during mating significantly increases the amount of sperm transferred, ensuring greater reproductive success with that mate. This peculiar behavior is advantageous in their natural context, where finding another mate can be highly uncertain and risky, thus making the self-sacrifice a more viable strategy for passing on genes to the next generation.

In the Case of the Redback Spider, Would Males Be