The balance between the investment of time and energy by males in searching for new partners and in protecting and/or feeding offspring can influence reproductive strategies. Strong competitors may enhance their mating effort, while weak competitors may compensate their disadvantage in intrasexual competition by investing in the increase of offspring survival. This balance and its implications to male reproductive strategies have been extensively investigated in vertebrate species but remain poorly understood in invertebrates, because paternal care is rare. Manogea porracea is the only described solitary spider in which extended male care occurs in the absence of females (i.e. amphisexual care). Large males usually win disputes and prefer large, more fecund females. Therefore, they may increase their reproductive success by prioritizing the investment in the search for additional partners, while small males may compensate their competitive disadvantage by increasing their own parental efforts. We tested the prediction that lighter males will invest in the care of the offspring more often than heavier ones. However, our results indicate that males care for offspring regardless of their size. We discuss how the benefits of parental care may override the costs of reducing the number of potential mates for M. porracea males and suggest new directions for further studies.

中文翻译：

---

体型会影响男性护理吗？研究 Manogea porracea（Araneae：Araneidae）的替代生殖策略，一种具有两性照顾的蜘蛛

男性在寻找新伴侣和保护和/或喂养后代方面投入的时间和精力之间的平衡会影响生殖策略。强大的竞争者可能会加强他们的交配努力，而弱的竞争者可能会通过投资增加后代存活来弥补他们在同性竞争中的劣势。这种平衡及其对雄性生殖策略的影响已在脊椎动物物种中得到广泛研究，但在无脊椎动物中仍知之甚少，因为父亲的照顾很少。Manogea porracea 是唯一一种被描述的独居蜘蛛，其中在没有雌性的情况下发生延长的雄性护理（即两性护理）。体型大的雄性通常会赢得争执，并且更喜欢体型更大、繁殖力更强的雌性。所以，它们可以通过优先投资寻找更多的伴侣来提高繁殖成功率，而体型较小的雄性可以通过增加自己的父母努力来弥补其竞争劣势。我们测试了一个预测，即较轻的雄性会比体重较重的雄性更频繁地投资于照顾后代。然而，我们的研究结果表明，雄性会照顾后代，而不管它们的大小。我们讨论了父母照顾的好处如何超过减少 M. porracea 雄性潜在配偶数量的成本，并为进一步研究提出新的方向。我们测试了一个预测，即较轻的雄性会比体重较重的雄性更频繁地投资于照顾后代。然而，我们的研究结果表明，雄性会照顾后代，而不管它们的大小。我们讨论了父母照顾的好处如何超过减少 M. porracea 雄性潜在配偶数量的成本，并为进一步研究提出新的方向。我们测试了一个预测，即较轻的雄性会比体重较重的雄性更频繁地投资于照顾后代。然而，我们的研究结果表明，雄性会照顾后代，而不管它们的大小。我们讨论了父母照顾的好处如何超过减少 M. porracea 雄性潜在配偶数量的成本，并为进一步研究提出新的方向。