Data for: Extra-genital wounding by males delays female remating in the sexually cannibalistic springbok mantis

An enigmatic consequence of sexual conflict in animals is the maintenance
of traits in males that cause harm to females during mating interactions.
Such harm is hypothesized to be either an adaptation per se, or a
collateral side-effect of adaptations that benefit males in other
contexts. Here, we take advantage of the unique mating interactions of the
sexually cannibalistic springbok mantis, Miomantis caffra, to investigate
the evolution of extra-genital wounding, whereby males stab females in the
abdomen with foretibial claws while fighting back against cannibalistic
attacks in premating struggles that lead to mating. If stabbing is
adaptive, we predicted that experimentally wounded females would alter
their remating behaviour or reproductive scheduling to the adaptive
benefit of injurious mates. We found that females were not less attractive
and did not cannibalize more following injury. Injured females also showed
no change in mortality, fecundity or offspring production that would
suggest male manipulation of female reproduction through wounding.
However, injury caused a significant delay in the timing of remating and a
reduction in the likelihood of remating with smaller males, suggesting a
potential benefit through reduced sperm competition. Our results provide
novel insights into how extra-genital wounding may be adaptive for males.
(Note that data consist of 4 files: 1. female attractiveness
(data_choice_successful), 2. female remating and cannibalism
(data_remating_and_cannibalism), 3. female mortality and fecundity
(data_ootheca_and_survival), and 4. offspring produced from the first
ootheca (data_offspring_count)).