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Female Remating in Drosophila ananassae:
Evidence for the Effect of Density on Female
Remating Frequency

Shree Ram Singh¹ and Bashisth N. Singh^1,2

Accepted April 20, 2001; revised May 25, 2001

Drosophila ananassae, a cosmopolitan and domestic species, is largely cir-
cumtropical in distribution and belongs to the ananassae species complex of
the ananassae subgroup of the melanogaster species group. In the present
study, experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of density on fe-
male remating frequency by employing different wild-type and mutant strains
of D. ananassae. Two experimental designs, i.e., 2-h daily observation and
continuous confinement, were used. The results show that there is significant
dependence of remating frequency on density in all strains tested under both
experimental designs except in a wild-type strain (Bhutan), which shows no
dependence of remating frequency on density under 2-h daily observation de-
sign. This finding provides evidence that density may increase the frequency
of female remating in D. ananassae.

KEY WORDS: Drosophila ananassae; female remating; density.

INTRODUCTION

Female remating is an important aspect of sexual behavior in Drosophila
that has received considerable attention, partially because it is intimately
associated with patterns of sperm usage and sexual selection (Parker, 1970;
Smith, 1984). Parker (1970) used the term “sperm competition” to describe

¹Genetics Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005,
India.

²To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: [email protected].

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0892-7553/01/0900-0659$19.50/0 °^C 2001 Plenum Publishing Corporation

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