Is variation in female aggressiveness across Drosophila species associated with reproductive potential?

Aggression is a key determinant of fitness in many species, mediating access to mates, food, and breeding sites. Variation in intrasexual aggression across species is likely driven by variation in resource availability and distribution. While males primarily compete over access to mates, females are likely to compete over resources to maximize offspring quantity and/or quality, such as food or breeding sites. To date, however, most studies have focused on male aggression, and we know little about drivers of female aggression across species. To investigate potential reproductive drivers of female aggression, we tested the relationship between three reproductive traits and aggression in eight Drosophila species. Using machine learning classifiers developed for D. melanogaster, we quantified aggressive behaviours displayed in the presence of yeast for mated and unmated females. We found that female aggression was correlated with ovariole number across species, suggesting that females that ..., This dataset was collected through experiments conducted at Oxford University.  Sets of flies were video recorded and the data were extracted by first tracking the flies using the Caltech Fly Tracker. Tracking was exported to JAABA for using supervised machine learning to use classifiers for female aggression. Data were subsequently analyzed in R., , # Is variation in female aggressiveness across Drosophila species associated with reproductive potential?

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.zpc866tfp](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.zpc866tfp)

The dataset and code are the result of experiments in which we measured the amount of aggression in eight species of *Drosophila*. Briefly, mated or virgin females were place in pairs in an arena with yeast. The number of headbutts and fencing events were scored using machine learning. In addition we obtained data from the literature as well as new data on each species including ovariole number, sperm size, body size, and remating propensity. We find variation in the aggression levels of the species with most decreasing in aggression after mating. Aggression levels are correlated with ovariole number and sperm size. The species examined were *Drosophila hydei*, *D. willistoni*, *D. nebulosa*, *D. sturtevanti*, *D. saltans*, *D. ananassae*, *D. bipectinata*, and *D. pseudoobscura.*

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