The effect of inbreeding on male mating ability inDrosophila melanogaster.

A set of experiments designed to measure the effect of rapid inbreeding on three components of male mating ability - competitive mating ability, mating rate and fertility - inD. melanogaster were conducted. A drastic reduction in competitive mating ability and mating rate was observed at a rather low level of inbreeding (F = 0.25), but the effect of further inbreeding was small. The results with respect to the effect of inbreeding on sperm quantity and quality were ambiguous due to an unsatisfactory experimental design.