Abstract
Previous research has described conditions which will alter the mating behavior of femaleDrosophila. MaleD. melanogaster exposed to mated females or immature males will show reduced levels of courtship toward normally attractive virgin females or immature males, respectively. Experiments allowing experienced and naive subject males to compete for virgin females are described. The results indicate that experience with mated females does not significantly alter the effectiveness of a male competing for a mate. However, experience with immature males can significantly increase the chances of securing a mate in some circumstances. These results are consistent with previous suggestions that “learning” phenotypes inD. melanogaster may be associated with evolutionary fitness.
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This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants BSR-8411503 to S.Z. and DEB 81-18405 to R.C.R.
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Zawistowski, S., Richmond, R.C. Experience-mediated courtship reduction and competition for mates by maleDrosophila melanogaster . Behav Genet 15, 561–569 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01065451
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01065451