Differential oxidative costs of locomotory and genital damage in an orb-weaving spider

Abstract

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, as inflicted by males to females 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 genital structure did not result in quantitative changes of oxidative markers. The lack of response to genital mutilation suggests that genital mutilation is physiologically not costly for female spiders. The cost incurred to females rather arises from genital mutilation preventing the females from remating with another male.