Data from: Indirect fitness benefits can reinforce the direct fitness benefits of male mate choice

Mating preferences frequently evolve because they confer fitness benefits
to the chooser. While there is strong evidence for both direct and
indirect fitness benefits in the context of female mate choice, the
potential for males to receive indirect benefits from mate choice remains
understudied. Male mate choice for larger female body size is widespread
among ectotherms and is generally attributed to the direct fitness
benefits larger females provide due to their higher fecundity. However,
when female size is heritable or condition-dependent, males could also
receive indirect benefits from mating with larger females in the form of
increased offspring fitness. We tested this possibility in Drosophila
melanogaster by first confirming the direct fitness benefits associated
with large females and then comparing the fitness of offspring produced by
large versus small females. Although female body size did not influence
offspring juvenile viability, large females produced daughters with higher
reproductive success than the daughters of small females. Males only
received these indirect benefits through their daughters, however, as
reproductive success did not differ significantly between the sons of
large and small females. Our findings demonstrate that indirect fitness
benefits can serve to reinforce the direct benefits of male mate choice,
suggesting that indirect effects may play an underappreciated role in the
evolution of male preferences.