Prior information and social experience influence male reproductive decisions

Abstract

Lay SummaryMate preferences vary among individuals. We show that male fruit fly courtship preferences are influenced by their previous experiences. Males that previously experienced a population of mostly large, high-quality females biased their subsequent courtship behavior toward large females more than males that had previously experienced mostly small females. Males that had experienced mostly small, low-quality females, and who had mated with a small female, tended to bias their subsequent courtship toward such low-quality females.