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ASSAY OF BASAL LEVELS OF MALE AGGRESSION AMONG SISTER TAXA DROSOPHILA RECENS AND DROSOPHILA SUBQUINARIA**

Abstract

Aggressive behavior plays an important role in access to resources, mating success, and social dominance in Drosophila, and may also contribute to the maintenance of species boundaries between closely related species. The Drosophila subquinaria–Drosophila recens system represents a classic example of reinforcement following secondary contact and provides a strong model for examining how behavior may influence reproductive isolation. While female mate discrimination has been well studied in this system, little is known of male behavior, particularly male–male aggression. In this study, we compared within-species male aggression in the sympatric populations of D. subquinaria and D. recens to establish baseline differences in aggressive behavior between the two species. Virgin males were isolated, paired in controlled dyadic encounters (subquinaria × subquinaria and recens × recens), and observed under standardized laboratory conditions. All trials were video recorded to allow consistent post-trial behavioral scoring. Aggressive interactions were quantified using wing flicks, lunging, boxing, chasing, latency to first attack, and total fight duration. Based on the evolutionary history of these species and their known pattern of reinforcement, we predicted that males of D. subquinaria and D. recens would show measurable differences in how often and how intensely they display aggressive behaviors. Data analysis is currently in progress and will focus on comparing these behaviors between the two species. Establishing these baseline patterns is an important first step for interpreting future interspecific aggression experiments, since understanding how males behave toward members of their own species provides necessary context for examining how they may interact with other species. Differences in male aggression could affect mating opportunities, competition, and ultimately reproductive isolation. By focusing on the SE-70 and Alberta populations, this study builds a foundation for future work aimed at understanding how behavior contributes to the long-term speciation of these closely related taxa.

Acknowledgements

Piedmont University Natural Science Department

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