Abstract
The mating times of single males and pairs of males were increased by crowding with virgin females but only at very high densities. Mating times were decreased by the presence of a second male. Quantitative analysis of courtship showed that prestimulation of females in crowded conditions influences mating. The pattern of male courtship was highly consistent across moderate levels of crowding. This suggests thatDrosophila courtships evolved in crowded conditions.
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Technical assistance was supported in part by Grant GM31687, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Public Health Service.
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Crossley, S., Wallace, B. The effects of crowding on courtship and mating success inDrosophila melanogaster . Behav Genet 17, 513–522 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01073118
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01073118