Data from: Reproductive character displacement of female mate preferences for male cuticular hydrocarbons in Drosophila subquinaria

Several lines of evidence implicate sexual isolation in both initiating
and completing the speciation process. While its existence is
straightforward to demonstrate, understanding the evolution of sexual
isolation requires identifying the underlying phenotypes responsible so
that we can determine how these have diverged. Here we study geographic
variation in female mate preferences for male sexual displays in the fly
Drosophila subquinaria. Female D. subquinaria that are sympatric with its
sister species D. recens discriminate strongly against both D. recens and
allopatric conspecific males, whereas females from allopatric populations
do not. Furthermore, female mate preferences target at least in part a
suite of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) in males and geographic variation
in CHCs mirrors the pattern of mate discrimination. In this study we
quantify female mate preferences for male CHCs from populations that span
the geographic range of D. subquinaria. We find that the direction of
linear sexual selection varies significantly between populations that are
sympatric vs. allopatric with D. recens in a pattern of reproductive
character displacement. Differences in preference partially align with
existing differences in CHCs and patterns of sexual isolation, although
discrepancies remain that suggest the involvement of additional traits
and/and more complex, nonlinear preference functions.