Data from: Longer matings increase male competitive fertilization success in Drosophila melanogaster
Data files
Nov 13, 2025 version files 55.58 KB
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HCMD_P2.R
2.30 KB
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HCMDP2_MV.csv
10.19 KB
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HCMDP2_MV.R
1.71 KB
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HCMDP2_Remate.csv
23 KB
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HCMDP2_Remate.R
740 B
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HCMDP2.csv
14 KB
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README.md
3.64 KB
Abstract
Copulation duration is a variable behavior that is often extended by males beyond the time needed for sperm transfer. In many insect species, these prolonged matings have been linked to higher male reproductive success with virgin females. However, most matings in multiply-mating species involve non-virgin females, whose role in shaping the evolution of this behavior remains underexplored. Using hemiclonal analysis in Drosophila melanogaster, we tested whether males benefit from extended matings with non-virgin females by comparing competitive fertilization success (P2) between males from three long-mating and three short-mating hemiclone lines. We confirmed that differences among hemiclone lines in male mating duration with virgin females persisted with non-virgin females and that these longer matings were associated with higher P2, demonstrating a clear fitness benefit to males. These findings build on past work showing that longer matings increase male defensive reproductive success, highlighting the adaptive value of prolonged matings for males in multiply-mating species and underscoring the importance of including non-virgin females in studies of sexual selection and reproductive behavior.
Description of the data and file structure
HCMDP2_MV.csv
Mating duration data from the mating duration experiment with virgin and non-virgin large and small females. Data are only shown for hemiclone males that mated. Data are displayed in Figure 1.
“Block” = the experimental block
“Observer” = the observer
“Vial” = the vial label for that block
"Clone" = the specific hemiclone line
“Treatment” = the mating duration treatment (Long or Short) for that hemiclone line
“FemSize” = the size of the female the male was paired with ("L" = large, "S" = small)
"FemStatus" = the mating status of the female the male was paired with (M= mated/non-virgin, V = virgin)
"CloneDuration" = the mating duration for the hemiclone male in minutes.
HCMDP2_Remate.csv
Female remating data from the male offensive reproductive success experiment.
“Block” = the experimental block
“Observer” = the observer
“Vial” = the vial label for that block
"Clone" = the specific hemiclone line
“FemSize” = the size of the female the male was paired with ("L" = large, "S" = small)
“Treatment” = the mating duration treatment (Long or Short) for that hemiclone line
"Mated" = whether or not the hemiclone male mated with the non-virgin female he was paired with (1= Mated, 0 = did not mate)
HCMDP2.csv
Mating duration data and P2 data from the male offensive reproductive success experiment. Data are only shown for hemiclone males that mated with the non-virgin female. Data are displayed in Figures 2a and 2b.
“Block” = the experimental block
"Observer" = the observer of the hemiclone mating (only used for the mating duration analysis)
“Vial” = the vial label for that block
"Clone" = the specific hemiclone line
“FemSize” = the size of the female the male was paired with ("L" = large, "S" = small)
“Treatment” = the mating duration treatment (Long or Short) for that hemiclone line
"CloneDuration" = the mating duration for the hemiclone male in minutes. Empty cells represent instances in which the mating duration could not be determined (because either the start time or end time of the mating was missed)
"RedOff" = the number of red-eyed offspring produced by that female (i.e., sired by the hemiclone male)
"BwOff" = the number of brown-eyed offspring produced by that female (i.e., not sired by the hemiclone male)
"TotalOff" = the total number of offspring produced by that female
"OLRE" = an observation-level random effect added to control for overdispersion in the P2 analysis
Sharing/Access information
Links to other publicly accessible locations of the data: N/A
Data was derived from the following sources: N/A
Code/Software
R scripts for models:
All analyses performed using R 4.5.1 and the following packages:
glmmTMB 1.1.11
car 3.1.3
emmeans 1.11.1
DHARMa 0.4.7
HCMDP2_MV.R
R code for the linear mixed model testing for differences between male treatments in mating duration with virgin and non-virgin large and small females using the data in HCMDP2_MV.csv
HCMDP2_Remate.R
R code for the binomial GLMM testing for differences between male treatments in female remating rates using the data in HCMDP2_Remate.csv
HCMD_P2.R
R code for the following analyses using the data in HCMDP2.csv:
- the linear mixed model testing for differences between male treatments in mating duration with non-virgin large and small females
- the binomial GLMM testing for differences between male treatments in P2 with large and small females