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At least 379 records · Page 21Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Voila, a new Drosophila courtship variant that affects the nervous system: behavioral, neural, and genetic characterization.

In Drosophila melanogaster, a specific PGAL4 transposon induces the Voila1 genetic variant and produces multiple phenotypes. Homozygous Voila1/1 flies rarely reach adulthood, whereas heterozygous Voila1/+ adult males show strong bisexual behavior. Males with a single copy of Voila1 driving the feminizing transgene UAS-transformer show very reduced sexual activity but no overall effect on their behavior. Voila1 is specifically expressed in the nervous system. In the CNS, it is expressed mainly in the mushroom bodies and, to a lesser extent, in the antennal lobes. In the peripheral nervous system, GAL4 expression is almost entirely restricted to the gustatory sensilla. Using chromosomal deficiencies, the behavioral alteration was genetically mapped to the same location as the PGAL4 element (86E1-2). The multiple behavioral effects of the Voila genetic variant are discussed in light of its expression in the nervous system and its genetic basis.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Courtship behaviour in male red-backed salamanders: the ESS dating game

Social interactions in red-backed salamanders, Plethodon cinereusare complex and often depend upon the sex and reproductive status of individuals. In the population at Mountain Lake Biological Station, Virginia, adult males outnumber sexually active (gravid) females by approximately 2:1, because males court annually while females accept mates only biennially. Field observations of male P. cinereus suggest that males maintain feeding territories and allow non-gravid (not sexually active) females access to their territories for foraging, whereas they defend their territories against intrusion by males. We used a game-theoretic analysis of models of male fitness to examine conditions that would favour the evolution of this 'permissive' behaviour. Under a series of increasingly realistic behavioural assumptions, we found that the critical factor in the evolution of male permissive behaviour is female preference for permissive males. If non-gravid females are more likely to return to mate with a male that allows access to his territory, then permissive behaviour is likely to evolve. Furthermore, the evolution of permissive behaviour is facilitated when energetic losses due to territorial defence exceed those due to allowing females to forage.1997The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

Variation and consistency of female preferences for simulated courtship songs in Drosophila virilis.

To study the variation and consistency of song preferences in Drosophila virilis females, we played them species-specific song and songs with modified sound pulses and/or interpulse intervals on 3 consecutive days. Species-specific song was played again on the fourth day. All playbacks were done without the presence of males. About 62% of the females indicated their readiness to mate by spreading their wings in at least one of the trials. The proportion of the females responding to species-specific song was about twice that of the females responding to modified songs. The majority of females responded to only one song type, which suggests that the females varied in their preferences and that their preference windows were rather narrow. The females were consistent in their responsiveness to species-specific song played on 2 days. If the female responded to normal song during the first trial, the probability of her responding to the same song during the second trial increased by about 32%. The number of songs required by the females before responding in the two subsequent trials was also correlated within the females (repeatability 0.328). Repeatability of female preferences for male sexual traits is expected both in the viability and Fisherian models of sexual selection. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Courtship role reversal and deceptive signals in the long-tailed dance fly, Rhamphomyia longicauda.

We examined the function of secondary sexual characters in the role-reversed, lekking behaviour of female long-tailed dance flies, Rhamphomyia longicauda Loew (Empididae), to test the hypothesis that the degree of abdominal distention is an honest female signal about the state of egg development. Female Rhamphomyia cannot hunt for prey and they receive all of their protein from males by exchanging copulations for nuptial prey gifts. Females compete for male gifts within leks that are organized for a brief period each evening before dark. Before hovering within leks, females swallow air, inflating expandable pouches on the pleural margins of the abdomen. The result is a large saucer-like abdomen which is further exaggerated by wrapping scaled pro-, meso- and metathoracic legs along its pleural margins. Male preference for an enlarged abdomen was confirmed by suspending plastic models of varying size from monofilament lines and recording which models attracted the most males. There was a positive relationship between egg development and abdominal distention in a related species, R. sociabilis (Williston), which lacks inflatable abdominal pouches. Multiple regression showed that in R. longicauda, abdominal inflation completely masks the state of egg development. We conclude that female R. longicauda deceive mate-seeking males with the unreliable message that eggs are nearing maturation in order to obtain a protein meal in exchange for copulation. Males that fail to identify a female bearing mature eggs risk near-certain cuckoldry and an increased probability that the female will die before oviposition. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗