Raw data for: Plastic responses of males and females interact to determine mating behaviour

Individuals can respond plastically to variation in their social environment. However, each sex may respond to different cues and contrasting aspects of competition. Theory suggests that the plastic phenotype expressed by one sex can influence evolutionary dynamics in the other, and that plasticity simultaneously expressed by both sexes can exert sex-specific effects on fitness. However, data are needed to test this theory base. Here, we examined whether the simultaneous expression of adaptive plasticity by both sexes of Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies in response to their respective social environments interacts to determine the value of key reproductive traits (mating latency, duration and fecundity). To vary social environments, males were kept alone, or with same sex rivals, and females were kept alone, in same-sex, or mixed-sex groups. Matings were then conducted between individuals from all of these 5 social treatments in all combinations, and the resulting reproductive traits...

生物个体可对其所处社会环境的变化做出可塑性响应。然而，两性可能会对不同的环境线索以及竞争的不同方面做出差异化响应。理论研究表明，某一性别所表达的可塑性表型可影响另一性别的进化动态，而两性同时表达的可塑性则可对适合度产生性别特异性的影响。然而，目前仍需相关数据以验证该理论基础。本研究以黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）为对象，探究两性在响应各自所处社会环境时所表达的适应性可塑性是否存在交互作用，进而影响关键繁殖性状（交配潜伏期、交配时长与繁殖力）的表型值。为构建不同的社会环境处理组，雄性果蝇被单独饲养，或与同性竞争者共养；雌性果蝇则被分为单独饲养、同性群养以及混合性别群养三种处理。随后，我们将这5种社会环境处理组的个体进行全组合交配实验，并对由此产生的繁殖性状……