Does perception of female cues modulate male short-term fitness components in Drosophila melanogaster?

Phenotypic plasticity in reproductive behaviour can be a strong driver of
individual fitness. In species with high intra-sexual competition, changes
in socio-sexual context can trigger quick adaptive plastic responses in
males. In particular, a recent study in the vinegar fly (Drosophila
melanogaster) shows that males derive net fitness benefits from being
shortly exposed to female cues ahead of access to mating
(termed sexual perception), but the underlying mechanisms of this
phenomenon remain unknown. Here, we investigated the short-term effects of
female perception on male pre- and post-copulatory components of
reproductive performance: a) mating success, b) mating latency and
duration, c) sperm competitiveness, and d) ejaculate effects on female
receptivity and oviposition rate. We found that brief sexual perception
increased mating duration, but had no effect on the main pre- or
post-copulatory fitness proxies recorded. This may suggest that male
fitness benefits from responses to sexual perception do not play out in
the short-term, but we discuss alternative explanations and future avenues
of research.