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Table 2 Mating behaviour and mating position in wild-type D. pachea couples with unmodified males, ‘left lobe cut’ males and ‘left lobe shaved’ males

From: Drosophila pachea asymmetric lobes are part of a grasping device and stabilize one-sided mating

 

Unmodified wild-type

Left lobe cut

Left lobe shaved

Wild-type in Lang & Orgogozo 2012 [24]

Symmetric mutant in Lang & Orgogozo 2012 [24]

Total number of couples

16

18

18

19

22

Number of couples that failed to copulate

0

1

0

0

8

Number of males that did copulate, but failed to do so at first attempt

0

2

2

0

3

Time until male courtship started [min:sec; mean ± SD]

9:53 ± 13:12 (n = 16)

5:58 ± 9:41 (n = 17)

9:06 ± 14:35 (n = 18)

10:56 ± 26:39 (n = 19)

1:52 ± 1:45 (n = 22)

Duration of male courtship until copulation occurred [min:sec; mean ± SD]

9:38 ± 8:15 (n = 16)

20:18 ± 25:07 (n = 16)

12:13 ± 32:03 (n = 18)

6:15 ± 7:15 (n = 19)

13:30 ± 20:04 (n = 14)

Duration of copulation until female started kicking [min:sec; mean ± SD]

17:11 ± 8:00 (n = 14)

14:21 ± 4:17 (n = 14)

13:28 ± 3:58 (n = 14)

not recorded

not recorded

Total duration of copulation [min:sec; mean ± SD]

27:38 ± 6:46 (n = 16)

27:35 ± 6:22 (n = 17)

25:28 ± 5:20 (n = 18)

34:55 ± 7:08 (n = 19)

39:55 ± 10:56 (n = 14)

Mating angle at 10–15 min after copulation starts (present study) or at 4–11 min [24] [degree; mean ± SD]

6.06 ± 3.64 (n = 12)

−1.98 ± 11.13 (n = 12)

8.87 ± 11.70 (n = 14)

8.55 ± 1.79 (n = 12)

5.77 ± 5.33 (n = 11)

Tilting index at 10–15 min after copulation starts [mean ± SD]

0.960 ± 0.038 (n = 12)

0.880 ± 0.070 (n = 12)

0.909 ± 0.096 (n = 14)

not recorded

not recorded

Male mortality between date of treatment and date of video recording or snap-freezing (including males used for snap-freezing experiments)

26.9 % (n = 14/52)

18.0 % (n = 9/50)

17.1 % (n = 6/35)

  
  1. Data from a previous study [43] are incorporated. Note that courtship time is higher in left lobe cut males than in control males but that this difference is not significant (log-transformed; LM: F 2,47  = 1.70, P = 0.194). Courtship duration is the time interval between the moment of first apparent male courtship behaviour and the moment at which the male mounts the female. SD = standard deviation, n = number of observations