Age-based mate choice in the monandrous fruit fly Drosophila subobscura

作者：Verspoor R L; Cuss M; Price T A R^*

来源：Animal Behaviour, 2015, 102: 199-207.

DOI：10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.01.024

• male investment
• male-male competition
• mate choice
• mating systems
• monandry
• multiple mating
• polyandry

Choosing the right mate can be critical to fitness, particularly for females of species that mate only once. One key trait by which females choose mates is male age. However, while some theories predict that females should prefer older males, others predict exactly the opposite. The evidence is also mixed, with females preferring older males in some species, and younger in others. Here we examined female preference for male age in a monandrous species, the fruit fly Drosophila subobscura. We found consistent preference for older males in four populations, from the U.K., Greece, Spain and Tunisia. Preference for older males was weaker in trials in which two males were presented to a female than in single-male trials. This preference for older males is probably driven by direct benefits: females that mated with older males produced more offspring. As this species is monandrous, it is very likely that this increase in offspring production is a genuine male-derived benefit, rather than females laying more eggs after mating with a preferred male. Previous work suggests that male-male interactions prior to mating can have a major impact on mating behaviour and success in males of this species and other Drosophila. We found varying effects of prior exposure to rival males, but in general younger males suffered more when exposed to a rival than older males. This study suggests that age-based preference by females can be consistent across populations with very different environments, even when those populations differ in other key mating-related traits such as offspring production and copulation duration.

• 出版日期2015-4