The role of species-specific sensory cues in male responses to mating rivals in Drosophila melanogaster fruitflies.

ABSTRACT: Complex sets of cues can be important in recognizing and responding to conspecific mating competitors and avoiding potentially costly heterospecific competitive interactions. Within Drosophila melanogaster, males can detect sensory inputs from conspecifics to assess the level of competition. They respond to rivals by significantly extending mating duration and gain significant fitness benefits from doing so. Here, we tested the idea that the multiple sensory cues used by D. melanogaster males to detect conspecifics also function to minimize "off-target" responses to heterospecific males that they might encounter (Drosophila simulans, Drosophila yakuba, Drosophila pseudoobscura, or Drosophila virilis). Focal D. melanogaster males exposed to D. simulans<

SUBMITTER: Bretman A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5696429 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature