Open AccessDifferential oxidative costs of locomotory and genital damage in an orb-weaving spider
Author(s) -
Pierick Mouginot,
Gabriele Uhl,
Nia Toshkova,
Michaël Beaulieu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of experimental biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.367
H-Index - 185
eISSN - 1477-9145
pISSN - 0022-0949
DOI - 10.1242/jeb.219758
Subject(s) - spider , oxidative damage , biology , sex organ , orb (optics) , weaving , oxidative phosphorylation , physiology , zoology , oxidative stress , endocrinology , genetics , biochemistry , artificial intelligence , computer science , image (mathematics)
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 (scapus), as inflicted by males 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 scapus did not result in quantitative changes of oxidative markers. This lack of a physiological response suggests negligible physiological costs of genital mutilation for female spiders. A possible cost of genital mutilation may be preventing females from remating with other males.