Does perception of female cues modulate male short-term fitness components in Drosophila melanogaster?

<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Phenotypic plasticity in reproductive behaviour can be a strong driver of individual fitness. In species with high intra-sexual competition, changes in socio-sexual context can trigger quick adaptive plastic responses in males. In particular, a recent study in the vinegar fly (<em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>) shows that males derive net fitness benefits from being shortly exposed to female cues ahead of access to mating (termed <em>sexual perception</em>), but the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon remain unknown. Here, we investigated the short-term effects of female perception on male pre- and post-copulatory components of reproductive performance: a) mating success, b) mating latency and duration, c) sperm competitiveness, and d) ejaculate effects on female receptivity and oviposition rate. We found that brief sexual perception increased mating duration, but had no effect on the main pre- or post-copulatory fitness proxies recorded. This may suggest that male fitness benefits from responses to sexual perception do not play out in the short-term, but we discuss alternative explanations and future avenues of research. </span></p>