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Proc Biol Sci

Title:		Male-male pheromone signalling in a lekking Drosophila
Author(s):		Widemo F; Johansson BG;
Address:		"Department of Population Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvagen 18D, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden. fredrik.widemo@ebc.uu.se"
Journal Title:		Proc Biol Sci
Year:		2006
Volume:		273
Issue:		1587
Page Number:		713 - 717
DOI:		10.1098/rspb.2005.3379
ISSN/ISBN:		0962-8452 (Print) 1471-2954 (Electronic) 0962-8452 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Interest in sex pheromones has mainly been focused on mate finding, while relatively little attention has been given to the role of sex pheromones in mate choice and almost none to competition over mates. Here, we study male response to male pheromones in the lekking Drosophila grimshawi, where males deposit long-lasting pheromone streaks that attract males and females to the leks and influence mate assessment. We used two stocks of flies and both stocks adjusted their pheromone depositing behaviour in response to experimental manipulation, strongly indicating male ability to distinguish between competitors from qualitative differences in pheromone streaks alone. This is the first example of an insect distinguishing between individual odour signatures. Pheromone signalling influenced competition over mates, as males adjusted their investment in pheromone deposition in response to foreign pheromone streaks. Both sexes adapt their behaviour according to information from olfactory cues in D. grimshawi, but the relative benefits from male-female, as compared to male-male signalling, remain unknown. It seems likely that the pheromone signalling system originally evolved for attracting females to leks. The transition to a signalling system for conveying information about individuals may well, however, at least in part have been driven by benefits from male-male signalling"
Keywords:		"Animals Competitive Behavior/*physiology Drosophila/*physiology Female Male Sex Attractants/*physiology Sexual Behavior, Animal/*physiology Statistics, Nonparametric;"
Notes:		"MedlineWidemo, Fredrik Johansson, Bjorn G eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2006/04/13 Proc Biol Sci. 2006 Mar 22; 273(1587):713-7. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2005.3379"