Effects of body size, accessory gland and testis size on pre- and postcopulatory success in Drosophila melanogaster

Reproductive success in males is affected by events that occur both before and after mating. We used multiple regression to examine the relation between male pre- and postcopulatory success and body size, accessory gland and testis size in Drosophila melanogaster. Males with larger accessory glands mated at higher frequency than did males with smaller accessory glands. This association was over and above allometry of accessory gland size with body size. Larger males had higher postcopulatory success than smaller males. We found no evidence for any associations between pre- or postcopulatory success and testes size. Taken together with previous literature, our results suggest that larger males have both higher pre- and postcopulatory reproductive success than smaller males. (C) 2002 The Association for the Study ofAnimal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.