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Query: "author" (Yongjia Zhan) .

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1.
The function of mating plugs in the spider Neriene emphana: mating strategy or sperm protection?
Shuang Tian, He Jiang, Yongjia Zhan, Qingqing Wu, Matjaž Kuntner, Lihong Tu, 2023, original scientific article

Abstract: Introduction: It is generally thought that mating plugs, where present, impede or reduce the possibilities of female subsequent mating. Behavioral studies on numerous spiders, where mating plugs are common, have generally supported this function. However, mating plugs in spiders could plausibly serve other functions as well. Namely, the structure of entelegyne spermathecae—the morphology of most spiders—could require a mechanism that would prevent sperm from leakage, desiccation, and backflow. Although the form and function of mating plugs in several spider species imply their potential adaptation for sperm protection, this function has never been empirically tested. Methods: Here, we test whether mating plugs in the sheet-web spider Neriene emphana serve as a sperm protective device by investigating its genital morphology, its copulation process, and the precise formation of its amorphous mating plugs. Results: This species constructs secretion plugs through male-female cooperation. Additionally, we found sperm plugs to be formed as a side product of sperm transfer, as well as an intermediate type of secretion plugs. These plug materials are transferred in different mating stages as documented by variations in the rhythm of male palpal application during copulation. We showed that complete copulations always resulted in formation of secretion plugs at spermathecal entrances via laborious deposition of male materials. Discussion: While our findings do not reject that secretion plugs in N. emphana prevent females from subsequent mating, we suggest that they must have evolved to provide sperm protection.
Keywords: entelegyne spermatheca, mating behavior, mating strategy, sperm protection mechanism, mating plug, secretion plug, sperm plug
Published in DiRROS: 15.07.2024; Views: 47; Downloads: 14
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2.
A spider mating plug functions to protect sperm
He Jiang, Yongjia Zhan, Qingqing Wu, Huitao Zhang, Matjaž Kuntner, Lihong Tu, 2024, original scientific article

Abstract: Mating plugs in animals are ubiquitous and are commonly interpreted to be products of mating strategies. In spiders, however, mating plugs may also take on functions beyond female remating prevention. Due to the vagaries of female genital (spermathecal) anatomy, most spiders face the problem of having to secure additional, non-anatomical, protection for transferred sperm. Here, we test the hypothesis that mating plugs, rather than (or in addition to) being adaptations for mating strategies, may serve as sperm protection mechanism. Based on a comparative study on 411 epigyna sampled from 36 families, 187 genera, 330 species of entelegyne spiders, our results confirm the necessity of a sperm protection mechanism. We divided the entelegyne spermathecae into four types: SEG, SED, SCG and SCD. We also studied detailed morphology of epigynal tracts in the spider Diphya wulingensis having the SEG type spermathecae, using 3D-reconstruction based on semi thin histological series section. In this species, we hypothesize that two distinct types of mating plug, the sperm plug and the secretion plug, serve different functions. Morphological details support this: sperm plugs are formed on a modified spermathecal wall by the spilled sperm, and function as a temporary protection mechanism to prevent sperm from leaking and desiccating, while secretion plugs function in postcopulation both as a permanent protection mechanism, and to prevent additional mating. Furthermore, with the modified spermathecal wall of S2 stalk, the problem of shunt of sperm input and output, and the possibility of female multiple mating have been resolved. Variation in spermathecal morphology also suggests that the problem of sperm protection might be resolved in different ways in spiders. Considering mating plugs of varying shapes and origins in the vast morphospace of spiders, we conclude that mating plugs might serve different purposes that relate both to mating strategies, as well as to sperm protection.
Keywords: spiders, mating strategies, mating plugs, sperm protection mechanism
Published in DiRROS: 19.06.2024; Views: 124; Downloads: 61
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