Genetic variability of sexual behavior in a natural population of Drosophila melanogaster.

Abstract

Although many experiments on laboratory stocks ofDrosophila have suggested that mate choice is a major feature of sexual selection in this organism, few attempts have been made to measure its extent in wild populations. In this study, a crossing design was used to obtain a set of 13 genetically identical independent lines representative of genotypes from an African population ofDrosophila melanogaster. They were tested for variation in sexual behavior using dyadic tests. Significant variation in orientation and vibration latencies was found for males, and in mating speed and copulation duration for both sexes. No evidence of assortative mating, either positive or negative, was found. The absence of a correlation in mating speed between males and females sharing the same genotype leads us to doubt the applicability of the notion of “male eagerness” and “female reluctancy” inDrosophila and the importance of “vigor” as a factor in mating speed. The absence of mate choice in natural populations ofDrosophila seems to us the most likely hypothesis on the basis of both theory and empirical evidence.