Abstract
Remating of recently mated females of Drosophila melanogaster has been investigated in crosses involving two homospecific males and in crosses in which one male was from D. melanogaster and the other from its sibling species D. simulans. Results indicate that if intensively courted, females are able to remate one day after the first mating. When double matings occur firstly with D. melanogaster or D. simulans and secondly with D. melanogaster, around 80% of the first male sperm is lost and the remaining sperm mixes randomly with that of the second male. However, most D. melanogaster sperm is lost when double matings occur with D. melanogaster followed by D. simulans, which suggests some incompatibility between the D. melanogaster sperm and the D. simulans seminal fluids. Fitness of D. melanogaster females remating homospecifically is higher than that of singly mated females. Also, the fitness of a female hybridizing with D. simulans and then remating with a male of its own does not differ from that of singly mated females, indicating that the negative effects of the hybridization can be surmounted by rapid homospecific remating. These results indicate that early female remating has an adaptive value for the D. melanogaster female.
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