Male mate guarding in a polyandrous and sexually cannibalistic praying mantid

Sexually cannibalized males incur a significant fitness cost due to the loss of future mating opportunities and are expected to evolve behaviors to avoid or compensate for such costs. For example, partially cannibalized males may exhibit mate guarding, in which they accompany the female to prevent her from mating with another male. In some species, cannibalized males prolong the duration of copulation. However, little is known about the adaptive significance of the mating behavior of sexually cannibalized males. We hypothesized that mating itself serves a mate guarding function, and that behavioral change caused by cannibalism enhances the mate guarding function. We tested these hypotheses using the polyandrous and sexually cannibalistic praying mantid Tenodera angustipennis, with decapitation as a model of sexual cannibalism. We compared latencies to female mating with a rival male among three experimental treatments: unmated treatment, noncannibalistic mating treatment, and canniba..., , , # Male mate guarding in a polyandrous and sexually cannibalistic praying mantid

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.pk0p2ngxw](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.pk0p2ngxw)

## Description of the data and file structure

Brief summary of dataset contents, contextualized in experimental procedures and results. Behavioral data of mating experiment (mating_experiment.csv) and count data of sperm transfer analysis (sperm_count.csv)

mating_experiment.csv: Behavioral data in the mating experiment.

README_mating_experiment.txt: Explanation for mating_experiment.csv.

sperm_count.csv: sperm counts in the analysis of sperm transfer dynamics.

README_sperm.txt: Explanation for sperm_count.csv.

missing data code: na.

Author names and contact details:

Hiroto Nishino1, Kotaro Morimoto1, Kazuki Kuroda1, and Yasuoki Takami1

1 Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University, Tsurukabuto 3-11, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan

Title of the study:

Male mate guarding in a polyandrous and sex...,