Condition‐dependent interaction between mating success and competitive fertilization success in Drosophila melanogaster. (1st August 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: De Nardo, Alessio N.; Roy, Jeannine; Sbilordo, Sonja H.; Lüpold, Stefan
• Is Part Of: Evolution. Volume 75:Number 8(2021)
• Page Start: 2014
• Page End: 2026
• Publication Date: 2021-08-01
• Subjects: Body size -- condition dependence -- female choice -- male‐male competition -- postcopulatory sexual selection -- sperm investment; Evolution -- Periodicals; Heredity -- Periodicals; Évolution (Biologie) -- Périodiques; Hérédité -- Périodiques; 338.47004094
• DOI: 10.1111/evo.14228
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0014-3820

Abstract

Abstract: Dietary restriction during development can affect adult body size and condition. In many species, larger (high‐condition) males gain higher mating success through male‐male competition and female choice, and female condition can affect the extent of both female mate choice and male investment in courtship or ejaculates. However, few studies have examined the joint effects and interplay of male and female condition during both the pre‐ and the postcopulatory phases of sexual selection. We therefore manipulated the larval diet of male and female Drosophila melanogaster to study how body size variation in both sexes biases competitive outcomes at different reproductive stages, from mating to paternity. We did not find a difference in mate preference or mating latency between females of different conditions, nor any interaction between male and female conditions. However, large males were more successful in gaining matings, but only when in direct competition, whereas mating latencies were shorter for low‐condition males in noncompetitive settings. Small males also transferred more sperm to nonvirgin females, displaced a larger proportion of resident sperm, and achieved higher paternity shares per mating than large males. In agreement with existing theory, we suggest that small males might partially compensate for their low mating success by strategically investing in larger sperm numbers and potentially other, unmeasured ejaculate traits, when they do have a mating opportunity.