These researchers studied wolf spiders and the relation between mating success and predation. Male wolf spiders are known to court females by drumming dry leaves with their abdomen. However, this action is energetically demanding and poses mortality costs. To study wolf spiders, they constructed a plastic arena and filled it with dry birch leaves. Three males and one female were placed inside, their behaviors were measured and analyzed until the female responded to one of the males. Then a lizard was introduced into the arena and the rank in which the males were predated was determined. The researchers concluded that higher drumming rates benefited males by increasing their mating success. However, mate searching and drumming also directly increased predation risk. This experiment is similar to Endler’s because it deals with the same sexual selection and predation balance. It shows that Endler’s experiments and conclusions regarding guppies can be applied to more species.
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