MATING FREQUENCY MEDIATES PERSONALITY EXPRESSION IN FACULTATIVELY POLYANDROUS MITES

Animal personalities are characterized by within-individual consistency linked to among-individual variability. Personality expression may change during ontogeny and is often dependent on major life history transitions and events such as mating and the onset of reproduction. While the influence of female personalities on sexual selection and mating has long been known, the influence of the females’ mates on female personality expression after mating is poorly understood. Here we hypothesized that in facultatively polyandrous animals multiple mating increases the females’ assets, also called the residual reproductive value (RRV), due to direct and/or indirect benefits. Based on the predictions of the asset protection principle, higher RRV should promote behaviors that reduce the risk of fitness loss and hence mediate behavioral repeatability displayed in groups. We tested our hypothesis in the group-living, plant-inhabiting predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis . To this end, predatory mite females were presented with either a single mate or two mates in sequence and their post-mating repeatability in activity and sociability was evaluated in groups that were composed of females of the same and mixed mating types (monandrous and polyandrous). Mating frequency had little effects on activity patterns but pronounced effects on sociability traits. Polyandrous females were on average more sociable as well as more repeatable in sociability than monandrous females. These behavioral shifts reflect greater risk aversion and strategies to mitigate inter-individual conflicts within groups to enhance asset protection. Our study suggests that the mating frequency can critically influence female personality expression after mating in facultatively polyandrous animals and highlights the importance of considering mate-related variables in animal personality research.