We found a positive effect of double mating, as in this treatment, oviposition probability was higher compared to the other treatments. We registered development time and survival, and measured offspring adult size and mass. Two thousand one hundred and fifty-two offspring from 67 first egg sacs were reared under two feeding levels. We measured female fecundity and fertility over a period of 140 days, comparable to the species' natural reproductive peak season. However, if the number of matings per se had an effect on oviposition or on offspring performance, double-mated females should perform better compared to both treatments of once-mated females. We predicted that females prevented from remating even though they are receptive would show reduced reproductive success compared to females that accept two copulations and females that reject a second male, since the latter two treatments were allowed to behave according to their decisions. We tested the effect of female re-mating behaviour using the cellar spider Pholcus phalangioides, which shows strong last males sperm precedence and moderate levels of polyandry under natural situations. However, in species with last male sperm precedence, female re-mating decides against the previous male by strongly limiting his reproductive success. This was mainly established for species in which sperm from several males mix in the reproductive tract of the female, thus allowing sperm competition and/or female sperm choice. Recent studies have demonstrated that mating with multiple males can be beneficial for females and her offspring even if males contribute nothing but sperm.
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