Data from: Fitness consequences of redundant cues of competition in male D. melanogaster

Phenotypic plasticity can allow animals to adapt their behaviour, such as
their mating effort, to their social and sexual environment. However, this
relies on the individual receiving accurate and reliable cues of the
environmental conditions. This can be achieved via the receipt of
multimodal cues, which may provide redundancy and robustness. Male
Drosophila melanogaster detect presence of rivals via combinations of any
two or more redundant cue components (sound, smell and touch) and respond
by extending their subsequent mating duration, which is associated with
higher reproductive success. Although alternative combinations of cues of
rival presence have previously been found to elicit equivalent increases
in mating duration and offspring production, their redundancy in securing
success under sperm competition has not previously been tested. Here, we
explicitly test this by exposing male D. melanogaster to alternative
combinations of rival cues, and examine reproductive success in both the
presence and absence of sperm competition. The results supported previous
findings of redundancy of cues in terms of behavioural responses. However,
there was no evidence of reproductive benefits accrued by extending mating
duration in response to rivals. The lack of identifiable fitness benefits
of longer mating under these conditions, both in the presence and absence
of sperm competition, contrasted with some previous results, but could be
explained by: 1) damage sustained from aggressive interactions with rivals
leading to reduced ability to increase ejaculate investment, 2) presence
of features of the social environment, such as male and female mating
status, that obscured the fitness benefits of longer mating, 3) decoupling
of behavioural investment with fitness benefits.