Mating with large males decreases the immune defence of females in Drosophila melanogaster.

Abstract excerpt

Mating has been widely reported to be a costly event for females. Studies indicate that female cost of mating in terms of fecundity and survivorship can be affected by their mates, leading to antagonistic coevolution between the sexes. However, as of now, there is no evidence that the female cost of mating in terms of immune defence is affected by their mates. We assess the effect of different sized males on...

Topics

• Animals
• Bacterial Load
• Body Size
• Drosophila melanogaster
• Female
• Fertility
• Larva
• Male
• Phenotype
• Serratia marcescens
• Sexual Behavior, Animal
• Time Factors