Multiple cues are often used for mate choice in complex environments, potentially entailing mismatches between different sources of information. We address the consequences thereof for receivers using the spider mite Tetranychus urticae, in which virgin females are highly valuable mates compared to mated females, given first male sperm precedence. Accordingly, males prefer virgins and distinguish them using cues from the females and/or that are present on the substrate. Whereas the former are more reliable, the latter may allow for a faster or more long-distance response. However, there can be mismatched information between cues as females move and/or mate. Here, we tested the consequences thereof by exposing males to mated or virgin females on patches previously impregnated with cues deposited by females of either mating status. Male mating attempts were solely affected by substrate cues while female acceptance and the number of mating events were independently affected by both cues. Copulation duration, in contrast, depended mainly on the mating status of the female, with the number of copulations and the total time spent mating being intermediate in environments with mismatched information. Ultimately, male survival costs mirrored male investment in mating. These results suggest that, in environments with mismatched information, the substrate cues left by females are instrumental for males to find their mates, but they can also lead to males paying survival costs without the associated benefit of mating effectively, or suffering reduced costs at the expense of losing effective mating opportunities. The benefit of using multiple cues will then hinge upon the frequency of information mismatch, which itself should vary with the dynamics of populations.

Although the role of multiple cues in mate choice have been widely studied, the consequences thereof for receivers remain poorly understood, especially when there is a mismatch between cues. We address this using the spider mite Tetranychus urticae, in which virgin females are highly valuable mates compared to mated females, given first male sperm precedence. We tested how the presence of females of different mating status, and of cues they left in the substrate affected mating behaviour as well as male costs. Male mating attempts were solely affected by substrate cues, being more frequent on patches with cues of virgins, while female acceptance and number of mating events were independently affected by both female identity and substrate cues, being higher when cues stemmed from virgins. Once copulation started, its duration depended mainly on the mating status of the female being fertilized, with the overall amount of time spent mating being higher in matings with virgins than in those with mated females. Male survival costs mirrored their investment in mating, with patches with a mismatch between cues showing intermediate survival costs. The substrate cues left by females are thus instrumental for males to find their mates, but they can also lead to males paying a high survival cost while not reaping the benefit of mating effectively, which suggest they are less reliable but more efficient than cues on females. The benefit of using redundant cues will then hinge upon the frequency of mismatch between cues, which itself should vary with the dynamics of populations.

While several researchers have suggested that evolution should be explored from the initial years of schooling, little information is available on effective resources to enhance elementary school students’ level of understanding of evolution by natural selection (LUENS). For the present study, we designed, implemented and evaluated an educational activity planned for fourth graders to explore concepts and conceptual fields that were historically important for the discovery of natural selection. Observation field notes and students’ productions were used to analyse how the students explored the proposed activity. Additionally, an evaluation framework consisting of a test, the evaluation criteria and the scoring process was applied in two fourth-grade classes to estimate elementary school students’ LUENS before and after engaging in the activity. Our results suggest that our activity allowed students to effectively link all of the key concepts in the classroom and produced a significant increase in their LUENS. These results indicate that our activity had a positive impact on students’ understanding of natural selection. They also reveal that additional activities and minor fine-tuning of the present activity are required to further support students’ learning about the concept of differential reproduction. We also observed a low level of teleological predictions for both pre- and post-tests.