Oviposition Dynamics and Niche Utilization in Two Sympatric Drosophila Species

Many Drosophila species coexist by sharing their feeding and breeding sites, which may influence their oviposition choices in an interspecies social context. Whether and where to lay eggs is a crucial decision for female flies as it influences the success of their offspring, by minimizing the risk of predation, competition, or cannibalism. Significant gaps exist in our understanding of Drosophila oviposition dynamics in co-occurring species. Here we tested oviposition strategies of Drosophila melanogaster and its close relative Drosophila simulans under different conditions, to assess whether a single female would prefer to oviposit separately or together with another female, be it a conspecific or not. We find that ovipositing females, regardless whether they are conspecifics or not, prefer to oviposit at the same site. This might suggest that the flies regard the benefits of sharing oviposition sites as higher than the potential risks of competition or cannibalism. The willingness to share oviposition sites was lower when the nutritional value of the medium was increased by adding yeast, and was lost when flies were allowed to lay the eggs consecutively, instead of being tested together. The latter might be explained by our additional finding that females become attracted by the presence of other females on oviposition substrates and that this attraction is partly driven by visual cues. Ovipositing in groups might facilitate intra- and interspecific social feeding of same age offspring, as well as enrichment of microbes. However, this cooperation dynamic might change if another female's offspring is already present, as it might be perceived as danger of competition or cannibalism.