Attractive males have greater success in sperm competition

While sexual selection is responsible for the rapid evolution of many characters [1,2], the precise relationship between pre- and post-copulatory sexual selection is unclear [3]. In some species, the two are positively associated and reinforce each other, while in others, the two bouts of selection are antagonistic and cancel each other out. Here we assessed the relationship between female preference for males and male fertilization success during sperm competition in the fly Drosophila simulans. We find that attractive males sired more offspring and also find a positive genetic correlation between male attractiveness and siring success.