Extremely rapid development and early reproduction reduces sexual selection in D. melanogaster populations [article]

Avani Mital, Manaswini Sarangi, Bodhisatta Nandy, Neha Pandey, Amitabh Joshi
2021 bioRxiv   pre-print
The role of sexual selection in mediating levels of sexual conflict has been demonstrated in a number of experimental evolution studies on Drosophila sp. where the level of competition among males for fertilization success was under direct selection. Here we report that selection for a short development time and early age at reproduction can lead to inadvertent changes in levels of sexual selection in D. melanogaster populations, affecting reproductive competition experienced by males. We
more » ... trate that faster developing and early reproducing populations showed very low levels of mating in their lifetime (likely being monogamous), low courtship levels, shorter copulation duration and longer maturation time, compared to their ancestral controls. We discuss these results in light of the previously demonstrated reduction of sexual conflict in these populations.
doi:10.1101/2021.04.09.439133 fatcat:2kbhvkfkmrev7froeuijzdqyvy