Data from: Female oviposition decisions are influenced by the microbial environment

In ovipositing animals, egg placement decisions can be key determinants of
offspring survival. One oviposition strategy reported across taxa is egg
clustering, whereby a female lays multiple eggs next to one another or
next to the eggs of other females. The fitness benefits of egg clustering,
especially in mixed maternity clusters, are unknown. In some species,
mothers provision eggs with diffusible defence compounds, such as
antimicrobials, raising the possibility of public good benefits arising
from egg clustering. We conducted 4 experiments (EXP1A, EXP1B, EXP2, EXP3)
to test the hypothesis that the microbial environment affects fecundity
and egg placement in groups of D. melanogaster females. In each
experiment, we collected data on the number of eggs laid, the proportion
of those eggs laid in clusters, egg cluster size and number, and egg to
adult viability. We also tested D. melanogaster and Ceratitis capitata egg
wash for antimicrobial activity against E. coli, Saccharomyces
cerevisiae, Alcaligenes faecalis and Micrococcus luteus, and
whole eggs against E. coli.

在产卵动物中，产卵位置的选择是决定子代存活的关键因素。已有研究在多个分类群中报道过一种产卵策略——集群产卵，即雌性将多枚卵彼此紧邻排布，或是将卵产在其他雌性所产的卵旁。集群产卵的适合度收益，尤其是在混合亲代集群中的收益，目前尚不明确。部分物种的母体会为卵添加可扩散的防御化合物（如抗菌物质），这使得集群产卵可能带来公共物品收益。本研究开展了4组实验（EXP1A、EXP1B、EXP2、EXP3），以验证如下假说：微生物环境会影响黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）雌性群体的繁殖力与产卵位置选择。每组实验中，我们均收集了以下数据：产卵总数、集群产卵的卵占比、卵集群的大小与数量，以及从卵到成虫的存活率。此外，我们还分别检测了黑腹果蝇与地中海实蝇（Ceratitis capitata）的卵洗液对大肠杆菌（Escherichia coli）、酿酒酵母（Saccharomyces cerevisiae）、粪产碱杆菌（Alcaligenes faecalis）以及藤黄微球菌（Micrococcus luteus）的抗菌活性，并检测了完整卵对大肠杆菌的抗菌活性。