DOI: 10.5061/dryad.5vf0143
title: Data from: Complex male mate choice in the brush-legged wolf spider Schizocosa ocreata (Hentz)

description: Recent interest in male mate choice has prompted a re-examination of
 widely held beliefs regarding sex roles in animal mating systems. It is
 now known that males can be choosy based on female quality, but studies
 which directly compare aspects of female quality and their influence on
 male mate choice are relatively rare. The brush-legged wolf spider
 Schizocosa ocreata (Hentz) has a well-studied male courtship display,
 which shows evidence of male mate choice based on female mating history
 and foraging history, as well as possible effects of experience and
 rearing environment. This makes it an excellent system to compare the
 importance of these two female states and examine how the choice patterns
 they give rise to may be influenced by the environment. By examining male
 courtship and female behavior under different circumstances and across
 environmental experience conditions, the relative effects of these factors
 can be inferred. Evidence collected in this study suggests that female
 mating status is the dominant predictor of mate choice, with males
 generally courting virgin females more vigorously regardless of context,
 as well as females showing higher levels of receptivity when unmated. An
 important exception to this trend is seen in field-reared males and their
 female partners, who show less behavioral differences based on female
 state, suggesting that this preference is not static and may be influenced
 by experience.
description: Female Playback
 ExperimentBehavioral data
 collected from "Female Silk Experiment." For female states,
 "v" = virgin, "m" = mated, "f" = fed, and
 "s" = starved (referred to as "deprived" in
 manuscript). "LatencyOrient" = the time elapsed before first
 orient toward stimulus with "LatOrientCensor" as a censor where
 1 represents a trial with recorded orient behaviors (values of 301
 indicate behavior did not occur in the 300 second trial).
 "LatReceptivity" = the time elapsed before first receptivity
 display with "LatRecCensor" as a censor where 1 represents a
 trial with recorded receptivity behaviors (values of 301 indicate behavior
 did not occur in the 300 second trial). "LatRecFromOrient" = the
 time elapsed between first orient and first receptivity display with
 "LTRFFOcensor" as a censor where 1 represents a trial with
 recorded receptivity after orient behaviors (values of 301 indicate
 behavior did not occur in the 300 second trial). "Pivot,"
 "Settle," and "TLE" are individual components of
 female receptivity displays. "ReceptivitySum" is the sum of
 those three displays and "ReceptivityRate" is that sum divided
 by 300 seconds (trial length). "AssociationTime" is the length
 of time, in seconds, that a female was associated with the stimulus
 (defined by presence on top of disc bender or with body directly in front
 of screen). "AssociationCensor" is a censor where 1 represents a
 trial where a female interacted with the stimulus.Live Mating
 ExperimentBehavioral data
 collected from "Live Mating Experiment." For female states,
 "v" = virgin, "m" = mated, "f" = fed, and
 "s" = starved (referred to as "deprived" in
 manuscript). "LatOrient" = the time elapsed before first female
 orient toward male with "FemaleOrientCensor" as a censor where 1
 represents a trial with recorded orient behaviors (values of 301 indicate
 behavior did not occur in the 300 second trial). "LatRec" = the
 time elapsed before first female receptivity display with
 "FemRecCensor" as a censor where 1 represents a trial with
 recorded receptivity behaviors (values of 301 indicate behavior did not
 occur in the 300 second trial). "LatCourt" = the time elapsed
 before first male courtship display with "MaleCourtCensor" as a
 censor where 1 represents a trial with recorded courtship behaviors
 (values of 301 indicate behavior did not occur in the 300 second trial).
 "LatCop" = the time elapsed before copulation with
 "CopCensor" as a censor where 1 represents a trial with recorded
 copulation (values of 301 indicate behavior did not occur in the 300
 second trial). "Pivot," "Settle," and "TLE"
 are individual components of female receptivity displays.
 "TotalRec" is the sum of those three displays. “Strikes” and
 “Bouts” are individual components of male courtship displays and “spb” is
 the number of strikes per bout. “TrialLength” is the total time elapsed
 between introduction of the male and A) expiration of time, B)
 cannibalism, or C) copulation. “LengthFromCourt” is the time elapsed
 between the end of the trial and the beginning of the male’s first
 courtship display.Silk
 ExperimentBehavioral data
 collected from "Male Courtship on Female Silk Experiment." For
 female states, "v" = virgin, "m" = mated,
 "f" = fed, and "s" = starved (referred to as
 "deprived" in manuscript). "Latency" = the time
 elapsed before first male courtship display with
 "CourtshipCensor" as a censor where 1 represents a trial with
 recorded courtship behaviors (values of 301 indicate behavior did not
 occur in the 300 second trial). “Strikes” and “Bouts” are individual
 components of male courtship displays and “spb” is the number of strikes
 per bout.