ABSTRACT
Male nuptial gifts may interact with juvenile development time through impacts on the resource budget of each sex. Male nuptial gifts fed on by the female, such as prey items, external spermatophores, and male body parts, will be incorporated into the female resource budget at the same rates as any other similar quality food item to be used, stored or excreted. Fecundity and survival are components of individual fitness and observed patterns of birth and death may be direct consequences of male nutrient donations because of the impact of these donations on the time and resource budgets of each sex. Individual-level physiology and behavior, as well as population demography and genetics, may be affected in ecological and evolutionary time. Individual fecundity and survival influence fitness relative to the fecundity and survival of other members of a population. The composition of the population is affected by its age structure, individual dispersal habits, and effective population size.
