Figure 1.
Quantification of D. melanogaster female immobility during courtship
(A–C) Data for intact OregonR (OrR) pairs, wild flies, and aristae-removed or antennae-removed OrR females paired with intact OrR males (Ar-r pairs and Ant-r pairs, respectively) filmed in plastic chambers. Ethograms constructed from analysis of video clips of 32, 9, 25, and 22 pairs, respectively.
(A) The total percentage of time females were immobile during courtship is similar for all pairs.
(B) The percentage of time where females were immobile while the male abdomen was tremulating is similar for all pairs. Note that, in all cases, the male was tremulating for a similar duration during courtship (Figure S1C).
(C) The percentage of time where females were immobile while the male abdomen was not tremulating is similar in all pairs.
(D–F) Data for OrR pairs on different substrates, including apple, banana, cactus fruit, or foam. Ethograms are constructed from analysis of 11, 12, 12, and 14 pairs, respectively.
(D) The total percentage of time females were immobile during courtship is significantly lower on foam (9% ± 1%) compared to the other substrates (27% ± 3%, 31% ± 6%, and 38% ± 4%, respectively), where it is similar.
(E) The percentage of time where females were immobile while the male tremulated was similar on apple (54% ± 3%), banana (62% ± 5%), and cactus (60% ± 4%) but significantly lower on foam (18% ± 4%).
(F) The percentage of time where females were stationary while the male was not tremulating his abdomen is similar on the natural substrates (40% ± 3%, 39% ± 4%, and 41% ± 3%, respectively) but significantly higher on foam (63% ± 7%). There is no significant difference between OrR female immobility in plastic chambers and OrR female immobility on apple, banana, and cactus fruit (p > 0.99, p = 0.86, and p = 0.19, respectively), suggesting that the presence of an edible substrate does not modify female’s immobility and response to the vibrations during courtship.