Does perception of female cues modulate male short-term fitness components in Drosophila melanogaster?

ABSTRACT: Phenotypic plasticity in reproductive behavior can be a strong driver of individual fitness. In species with high intra-sexual competition, changes in socio-sexual context can trigger quick adaptive plastic responses in males. In particular, a recent study in the vinegar fly (Drosophila melanogaster) shows that males derive net fitness benefits from being shortly exposed to female cues ahead of access to mating (termed sexual perception), but the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon remain unknown. Here, we investigated the short-term effects of female perception on male pre- and post-copulatory components of reproductive performance: (a) mating success, (b) mating latency and duration, (c) sperm competitiveness, and (d) ejaculate effects on female receptivity and reprodu

SUBMITTER: Corbel Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9471061 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature